by Colin Beltz
Sports writer
The Cobbers played tough against an outstanding St. Thomas team, but a 14-6 run in the final minutes by St.Thomas put the game away as Concordia fell 64-56 in their MIAC home opener. The loss drops the Cobbers to 1-1 in the MIAC, 4-1 overall.
Concordia was led by Jodi Tulibaski and Leah Sonstelie who scored 12 points each. Rayna Heard provided a spark off the bench with eight points.
Concordia remained close throughout the game thanks in part to clutch free throw shooting in the second half. They made 14 of 16 attempts in the last 20 minutes of the game and shot 79.2 percent during the contest.
Unfortunately, they were not as tough from the rest of the floor, especially in the first half.
As in previous games, the Cobbers started slowly. St. Thomas jumped out to an early 10-5 lead, but Concordia answered back and pulled within two points.
The half featured better defense than offense as each team had to work the ball around the perimeter on each trip down the floor to find a good shot. Concordia was winning the rebounding battle under the basket, but couldn't put their second chance shots in the hoop.
The Cobbers entered the locker room after making just 25.6 percent of their shots from the floor and found themselves down 30-21 at the half.
While the defense was very effective at times, the offense needed a jump start.
The Cobbers received it when Heard came off of the bench in the first half. Right away, on consecutive trips down the court, she found open people and got the ball to them.
She continued her great play in the second half as she helped to open up the floor making the correct decisions when to give the ball up and who to give it to. The second half opened with the Cobbers, Tulibaski followed her own miss, collected the loose ball and shot it into the basket to lessen the lead to 30-23.
St. Thomas then scored on two straight possessions to push their lead to 34-23, their largest of the game.
Then the Cobbers started making a move. Tulibaski and Heard hit baskets to trim the lead to 34-27.
After a free throw by the Tommies, Heard received an outlet pass and threw it crosscourt to Holly Zollar who then dished it to a wide open Tulibaski who was streaking down the paint. This success made the score 35-29.
The Cobbers then stepped up their defense and after two steals resulted in breakaway layups by Tulibaski, the Cobbers were within four points.
The teams traded baskets but the lead remained at six points until Heard stole an errant pass and made a layup by ducking under a defender who flew by her trying to knock the ball loose and fouled Heard in the process.
The lead was cut to three, but St. Thomas scored two more baskets to get the lead back up to six.
Following a missed shot by the Cobbers, Nikki Swenson stole a pass at St. Thomas' end of the floor and broke free down the court for what seemed to be a sure two points. However, the ball was knocked out of her hands before she could shoot.
The Cobbers got the ball back and it again went to Swenson who lined up behind the three point arc and nailed a key three pointer.
Sonstelie hit two free throws minutes later to cut the lead to 48-44. Four mores free throws by the Cobbers evened the score at 50-50.
Then the game got out of control. For the rest of the game, the Cobbers would be outscored by eight points, as St. Thomas converted Concordia turnovers into points as they won going away.
As the game progressed, the Cobbers seemed to be content with waiting for the right shot, especially midway through the second half. But then the team became a little too eager to score.
"We didn't get the ball down into the post," said Zollar. "We needed to take our time on offense, I know I tried to push it a lot."
Head coach Kathy Wall said while the Cobbers did not play as well as they are capable of, St. Thomas deserves some of the credit.
"The first half really hurt us," said Wall. "We have got to put those shots in. But, St. Thomas is a solid team."
Wall said her team is still a little timid at times.
"We pulled back a little," she added when the teams were tied in the second half. "We need to have that killer instinct."
Even though the Cobbbers lost, they are seeing a glimpse of the future point guard in Heard.
She had three assists to lead the team against St. Thomas and is beginning to get the attention of the coaching staff.
"She's getting better," Wall said. "Rayna did a good job of containing on defense. As a coaching staff, we were pleased with that."
Even with the loss Wednesday night, the Cobbers' record in the MIAC is still at .500.
Concordia travelled to Hamline for the conference opener and came away with a 67-58 victory.
Tulibaski led the Cobbers with 18 points while Schirm and Swenson added ten points a piece.
Swenson shot 5 of 7 from the field, made five steals in the game, and dished out four assists.
Entering Wednesday night's action, Schirm was the team's scoring leader averaging 12.3 points per game.
There are two other Cobbers averaging in double figures. Zollar is scoring just over 11 points and Tulibaski is scoring ten points a game.
The Cobber women will play their next game on Dec. 9 at Gustavus. During Christmas break, they will travel to Luther, Iowa to play in a two-day tournament.
Women's Basketball,
Most Recent Update
Return to December 8, 1995 issue
Return to The Concordian Sports Home Page
This page is maintained by The Concordian and Colin Beltz '96 concordian@www.cord.edu
Return to Cobber Sports Home Page 
Return to Concordia Home Page