by Colin Beltz
Sports Editor
The Cobbers have never lost to Augsburg in women's basketball, but that streak was in jeopardy Wednesday night after the Auggies tied the score 53-53 with just five minutes left in the game. However, Concordia finished strong by outscoring their opponents 15-7 and making six straight free throws to seal the 68-60 win on the road Wednesday night.
Concordia improved their MIAC mark to 5-1, and 9-2 overall. They play host to Macalester tomorrow, and travel to St. Mary's Monday and St. Olaf Wednesday.
The Cobbers got off to a great start with a 15-4 lead six minutes into the game. One of the reasons why was because Holly Zollar gave Ann Mehrkens great passes on many occasions.
Even with the hot start, Augsburg stayed close to the Cobbers. After Augsburg tied the score, Zollar drove the lane and Concordia regained the lead 55-53. Augsburg then turned the ball over to Concordia, Mehrkens was fouled and made one of two free throws.
With just over three minutes left in the game, Rayna Heard stole an errant pass and made an easy lay-up giving the Cobs a 58-53 lead.
While the Auggies kept close, the Cobbers made clutch free throws to secure the 68-60 win. Mehrkens led the Cobbers with 18 points on 7 for 11 shooting and six rebounds. Jodi Tulibaski's added 12 points. and four rebounds. Nikki Swenson scored nine points, had five rebounds and dished out three assists..
Zollar played one of her best games of the year as she scored nine points, had nine rebounds and made five assists.
The Cobber women routed Carleton 72-40 Monday night and defeated St. Benedict 82-70 Saturday. Against Carleton, the Cobbers used their advantage under the basket to gain an early edge. On their first possession, Nikki Swenson took the opening tip down the floor and lobbed the ball inside to Jodi Tulibaski who spun away from her defender. This scene would be repeated many times throughout the game.
Carleton hung close to the Cobbers until five minutes into the half when the Cobber women simply caught fire on offense. Swenson started the streak with a three-pointer, and the Cobbers continued to pass the ball inside to Leah Sonstelie and Mehrkens. Both players had little trouble scoring on their overmatched opponents.
The Cobbers played terrific defense while scoring a lot of points. They blocked shots and forced turnovers. Carleton scored two points in a span of about ten minutes as Concordia raced out in front 34-12.
A cause for concern emerged as Concordia was held scoreless for the rest of the half. Carleton cut the lead by scoring the last nine points in the half. Concordia still held a comfortable lead of 34-21 going into the locker room.
After halftime, Concordia again dominated with Mehrkens and Sonstelie leading the way. The Cobbers outscored the Carls 17-4 in the first 10minutes of the half, including eight straight points by Mehrkens, to put the game away as Concordia cruised to an easy 72-40 win.
In addition to their inside play, the Cobbers passed the ball well, one aspect that Cobber head coach Kathy Wall credits is creating better looks at the basket.
"Our shooting percentage is going up," said Wall. "That's because of our ball movement. When you can move the ball around well, you end up with lay-ups and uncontested shots."
Mehrkens led the Cobbers with 16 points and tied Nichole Walla for a game-high nine rebounds. Holly Zollar finished with ten points, and Sonstelie scored eight points while collecting six rebounds. Swenson scored nine points and delivered seven of the Cobbers' 23 assists on the night.
Last Saturday, the Cobbers beat St. Ben's handily 82-40. Schirm opened the game by hitting a three-pointer to give the Cobbers a quick 3-0 lead. The Cobbers then began to attack the Blazers under the basket with Sonstelie feeding Zollar inside for two points. The Cobbers continued this throughout the half and built a 41-23 halftime lead, led by Zollar with 12 points.
The Blazers hung tough in the second half and actually outscored the Cobbers in the last twenty minutes. However the large first half margin proved to be the difference as the Cobbers won the game.
Tulibaski's 17 points and 13 rebounds in the game led the team in both categories. Mehrkens also played well, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
Schirm scored 16 points in the game, Zollar finished with 15 points and Swenson scored 11 points to round out double figure scorers.
After the game, Tulibaski said that the rebounds helped the team to score more points.
"The offensive rebounds helped to push the ball up the floor," she said. "Annie and Sonstelie boarded really well."
The Cobbers played at the Luther, Iowa tournament Dec. 28-29 beating Millikin 57-44 and losing to Luther 68-60. A familiar face returned to the team in those games, Ann Mehrkens. After attending Augustana last semester, she returned to Concordia.
Following their win over St. Ben's, and Mehrken's first home game since returning, Tulibaski echoed thoughts which like are shared by the entire team: "It's great to have her back."
Women's Basketball,
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