by Peter Borkowski
ooking to remain undefeated in conference play, the Concordia University Chicago women’s basketball team (6-3, 5-0) welcomed the Sabres of Marian University (2-6, 1-3) for the back half of a Saturday doubleheader. CUC’s offense put on a clinic in the first half, dropping 44 points, on route to a 76-62 win over Marian. The Cougars now stand alone at the top of the NACC with their 5-0 record.
Inside the Box Score
- Alexis Desjarlait (Red Lake, Minn./Ojibwe) led the way for Concordia, putting up a career high 30 points, going 5-12 from beyond the arc. The junior also snagged 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.
- Katherine Benes (Oconomowoc, Wis.) and Jaylene Wade (Lansing, Ill.) also reached double-digit points, with 18 and 12 respectively.
- The turnover battle turned into a huge advantage for CUC, who only coughed up the ball nine times compared to Marian’s 18. The Cougars capitalized on the Sabres’s mistakes, scoring 24 points off turnovers.
First Quarter
Both defenses stood strong to start, with the first score coming 3:20 into the game with a Desjarlait floater. About a minute later, a Lexi Brakebush foul would send Benes to the line, who converted both shots, putting the CUC lead at 4-0.
Marian would finally get on the board when Aliyah Kvamme put her second free throw attempt through the bucket, making the score 4-1. Another pair of made free throws, this time from Desjarlait, quickly enlarged the Cougar lead to 6-1.
Paris Harris would score the Sabres’s first field goal with 3:41 left to go in the first quarter, and then another made bucket from Harris, this one a three-ball, would tie the game at six.
Kvamme used a put-back score to momentarily give her team an 8-6 lead, but a three from Desjarlait quickly put the Cougars back in front, 9-8. Another three, this time from Benes, grew the Concordia lead, 12-8.
With the score standing at 14-10 after a pair of Wade free throws and a Marian layup from Lacey Frase, CUC used a quick five point swing, courtesy of a Benes layup and Desjarlait three, to put the score at 19-10 heading into the break, with the Cougars on top.
Second Quarter
Quarter two got off to a similarly slow start, with the Sabres scoring the only bucket in the first 2:30. Desjarlait kept the hot hand, scoring yet another three-pointer, her third of the game, setting the score at 22-12.
Concordia kept their foot on the gas, scoring the next six of eight points. Yet another Desjarlait three put CUC up 17, 31-14.
The lead would build all the way to 21, 37-16, after Desjarlait made a trio of free throws. Desjarlait made another trip to the charity stripe, going one for two. Down 38-16, Marian used a Chelsea King layup to get back two points, which were immediately made moot after a pair of Alisyn MacGregor (Loves Park, Ill.) buckets.
A King made free throw would get Marian one point back, but the Cougars went to the locker room up big, 44-19.
Third Quarter
The third quarter as a whole was a tighter affair. Marian struck first off a couple of Brakebush free throws, but Concordia responded swiftly with a Jada Dixon (Gary, Ind.) jumper and a Benes layup.
The Sabres went on a five point run, before CUC bounced back with a run of six. Now down 58-28, Marian would go on a 12-5 run to pull within 23 as the third quarter reached its conclusion, the score standing at 63-40.
Fourth Quarter
Strong play from the Sabres continued into the fourth quarter, outscoring the Cougars 9-6 in the first four minutes. Brakebush used an athletic finish to pull within 18, before two King free throws cut the lead even further, 69-53.
A Wade three-pointer helped Concordia, but a baseline jumper from Becca Theisen got Marian right back at it. The next made basket would be the exact same shot from Theisen, cutting the deficit down to 15, 72-57.
With two minutes left in regulation, the Sabres’s comeback hopes remained alive, especially now being in the double bonus. However, it would take until the 1:02 mark for Marian to put points up, with two Frase free throws putting the score at 74-60.
A layup from Benes with 36 seconds left all but iced the game, even with a last second Frase score. With the clock showing zero time left, the scoreboard read 76-62 in favor of CUC.
