by By Kayla McCloud
RIVER FOREST, ILL. – The Concordia University Chicago Cougars welcomed the Alverno Inferno to Geiseman Gymnasium, securing the 71-52 victory to make them 2-0 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC).
INSIDE THE BOX
- Alexis Desjarlait (Red Lake, Minn.) led the Cougars with 23 points and six rebounds – a new season high.
- Lela Scott (Indianapolis, Ind.) grabbed a career-high six steals while leading the team overall.
- Linley Southern (Decatur, Ill.) won the battle of the boards and collected a career-high eight rebounds on the night.
- The team collected a season-high 20 steals, bringing their average up to 11.9 steals per game.
FIRST HALF
The Cougars started off slow with three consecutive turnovers that allowed the Inferno to strike first. The Cougars answered back quickly with a fast break driving layup from Khaliah Reid(Naperville, Ill.) evened the score.
The Inferno would take an early 30-second timeout to regroup, but the Cougars would take advantage and go on a 13-0 run that would put them up by as much as 11 with four minutes to play in the first quarter. Threes from Nazuri Whigham(Naperville, Ill.), Desjarlait, and Reid would lead the charge close out the first quarter with a 12-point lead.
Momentum stayed on the Cougars’ side as free throws from Abby Kulig(Carol Stream, Ill.) and Prentciss Gates(Gary, Ind.) followed by a layup from Desjarlait would jump them out to a 17-point lead. Playing high-intensity defense, a bigtime block from Desjarlait, steals from Scott, Whigham, and Cydnei Mitchell(Aurora, Ill.) would keep the ball in Cougar Country giving perfect opportunity for yet another Desjarlait three.
Relying on a full-court press to set the tone for their defense, the Cougars continued to dominate as they forced 13 Inferno turnovers and collected 17-points off turnovers in the second quarter. A pull-up jumper from Desjarlait to close the half would give the Cougars a 27-point advantage over the Inferno with 20 minutes to play.
SECOND HALF
With no sign of slowing down, the Cougars took the court for the second half with authority. A quick three from Desjarlait would jumpstart the 7-0 run they’d go on to extend their lead to 32.
A couple back-to-back buckets for the Inferno would cut the Cougar lead down to 27 but Desjarlait’s final points of the night would bump the Cougars back to a 30-point lead. Mitchell hit her hot streak following a fastbreak layup, and offensive rebound, jumper in the paint, and a big time three to bring the Cougs ahead by 34.
A layup from Kulig followed by a free throw from Gates would give the Cougars their largest lead of the night at 39 to close the third quarter. With a fresh slew of faces on the floor for the Cougars they continued to dominate. A three from Melia Perry (Plainfield, Ill.) followed by a driving layup that caught the Inferno off guard gave her five of her seven points on the night.
Though Southern made her game debut in the second quarter picking up two rebounds, she continued to win off the glass as she collected her final six rebounds in the last six minutes of the game.
Despite closing the game with their lowest scoring quarter of the game, the Cougars successfully pulled off the victory over the Inferno 71-52.
