Northwest's Domi Mendezona (#21) gets into the paint.
Concordia Posts First CCC Win
KIRKLAND, Wash. – Concordia broke open a close contest to defeat Northwest University, 81-68, tonight to post their first Cascade Conference win.
The teams would battle back and forth in the first half with neither team able to gain the upper hand. Concordia’s Lexi Amundsen would hit one of two free throws with 7 seconds remaining in the half to give the Cavaliers a narrow, 37-36 lead going into the locker room. Concordia would only hit 25% of their shots in the period going 9 for 36 from the field while Northwest managed 36% shooting on 14 of 29 shooting. The difference would be the free throw line as Concordia would hit 17 of 18 tosses for a 94% average while NU would go to the line 6 times and hit 3 free throws.
The game would remain close in the early going of the second half. With Northwest holding on to a 43-42 lead at the 16:47 mark, Concordia would heat up and go on a 10-2 run to re-take the lead, 52-43 as Lexi Amundsen would get into the paint for a layup. Alyssa Dario would hit a 3 pointer to pull NU to within four, 52-48 but a 10-1 run by the Cavs would build their lead back up to 12, 61-49 with 10 minutes to go in the game. Northwest would close to seven twice in the late stages of the game, but each time Concordia would answer and then finish the game with a 10-4 run to earn the victory.
Junior Domi Mendezona would lead all scorers with 19 points for Northwest U. (2-12, 1-6 CCC) followed by Alyssa Dario’s 15 points. Jenna Lewis and Jordan Asher would each score 10 points for the Eagles who shot 28% on the night. NU hit 76% of their free throws making 19 of 25.
Concordia (6-10, 1-6 CCC) was led by Gabi Beyer’s 17 points. Kelly Huey registered a double-double with 13 points and a game high 10 rebounds while also adding 5 assists. Caitlyn McCutcheon contributed 12 points for the Cavaliers. CU dominated the backboards with a convincing 62-45 rebounding margin which included 21 offensive boards. CU hit only 34% of their shots, but made up for it from the foul line knocking down 29 of 35 for 83%.