Sophomore post Caitlyn McCutcheon recorded her first double-double on Tuesday, totaling 12 points and 10 rebounds in the Cavs' 69-59 win over Linfield.
Dominant Second Half Leads CU over Linfield
BOX SCORE - Concordia vs. Linfield
PORTLAND, Ore.—Down 10 points at halftime, the Concordia women’s basketball team posted a dominant second half to come back and beat Linfield 69-59 on Tuesday.
The two halves could not have been more different Tuesday as Concordia (5-3) shot 40.5 percent in the second half compared to just 28.9 percent in the first half. On the flip side, the Wildcats (0-5) shot 45.7 percent in the first half, but only 33.3 percent in the second half. Consequently, the Cavaliers rushed past the Wildcats in the second half as they outscored them 44-24 after halftime.
The Cavaliers began their second half push with a 15-3 run at the start of the period that turned a 39-29 deficit into a 44-42 lead with 11:45 remaining.
Concordia took the lead for good just a few minutes later too, as a three-point play from senior Malori Dixon gave Concordia a 47-45 lead with 9:47 remaining.
Dixon played a major role in the Cavs’ second-half spurt as she scored 12 points in the period, while also adding two assists, a block and a steal. Freshman Randi McReynolds also came up big for the Cavs in the second period as she had six rebounds and five assists in the second half, but more importantly frustrated the Wildcats’ Kaely Maltman on the defensive end. Maltman had 12 points and six rebounds in the first half against the Cavs, but didn’t make a field goal with McReynolds on her in the second half until there was just 5:33 remaining in the game.
Once with the lead, Concordia stretched its advantage with a 10-2 run that put them up 57-49 with 4:50 remaining. Posts Caitlyn McCutcheon and Lexi Amundsen helped lead the Cavaliers on the late run as both turned up their play late in the game.
McCutcheon finished the game with her first career double-double at Concordia, totaling 12 points and 10 rebounds. Like Dixon and McReynolds, McCutcheon got most of her production done in the second half when she had 10 points and six rebounds. Amundsen, meanwhile, also had a strong second half in which she scored nine points to finish with 13 points and five rebounds overall.
Now with the clock under five minutes, the Cavaliers never let the Wildcats closer than five points as they closed out the victory with ease. Tuesday’s victory snapped a three-game losing streak for Concordia during which the Cavaliers lost to three nationally-ranked teams.
Overall in the game, Dixon led all scorers with 22 points, while Amundsen’s 13 points and McCutcheon’s 12 gave the Cavs two more double-digit scorers. On the boards, McReynolds and McCutcheon tied for a game-high 10 rebounds, while McKenna Daly and Amundsen tied for second on the team with five each.
McReynolds provided easily the most balanced performance of the night as she finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals.
As far as the Wildcats, Maltman led them with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Katelyn Henson tied Maltman with eight rebounds and added 13 points for the team as well.
Next up, Concordia hits the road for a pair of games against Northwest Conference schools in No. 24 George Fox and Pacific Lutheran. The Cavs will first play George Fox at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, then play Pacific Lutheran at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8.
George Fox will enter their game against the Cavs as the reigning national runners-up in NCAA Division III. The Bruins will also be fresh off a dramatic, last-second win over Warner Pacific, who they beat 63-62 on Tuesday.
Concordia won’t play its next home game until it hosts Southern Oregon at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 21.