by Colin Beltz
The Concordia women's basketball team rebounded from a rough first half against St. Olaf to win 70-41 Wednesday night at Memorial Auditorium.
Concordia improved their mark to 14-3 in the MIAC, 18-4 overall.
After a 7-0 run to start the game, the Cobbers went flat. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong did for the Cobbers. St. Olaf took advantage of Concordia's woes with a 21-4 run that put them ahead 21-13 with five minutes left in the first half.
First-year student Nichole Walla came off the bench and provided the spark for the turnaround.
A St. Olaf player attempted a shot, but Walla swatted it away, leading to sophomore Leah Sonstelie's lay-up on the other end of the court.
"I love blocking shots," said Walla. "I'd rather block shots than score."
While adept at shot blocking, Walla shoots well too. She hit a lay-up and added a free throw when fouled.
Her personal highlight reel concluded as she blocked another shot with :01 left in the half to keep the Oles' lead at 23-21.
The Cobbers shot just 29.6 percent in the first half and were fortunate the Oles didn't fare much better with 31.4 percent.
However, the second half was a completely different story as the Cobbers wrote a new chapter on how defense should be played.
Sophomore Jill Carlin set the tone for the half in the first two minutes as she stole two passes. The rest of the Cobbers also stepped up their play.
Concordia was tenacious on defense as they pressured the Oles early and often.
St. Olaf shot just 17.9 percent from the floor while making just five field goals in the half.
The Cobbers, meanwhile, used their defense to score easy baskets on their end of the floor as they outscored the Oles 49-18 in the second half on their way to the win.
Concordia was led in scoring by juniors Holly Zollar and Ann Mehrkens. Zollar scored 16 points and made 5 of 8 field goals and 5 of 6 free throws.
Mehrkens finished with 14 points on 7 of 8 shooting from the floor.
After the game, Cobber Head Coach Kathy Wall praised the play of Walla and Carlin.
"I'm proud of Walla and Jill" she said. "They came off the bench and responded well."
The biggest difference between the two halves was the play of the Concordia defense.
"It doesn't take a lot of talent to play defense, but it does take a lot of heart," Wall said.
On Monday, the Cobbers experienced an unexpected test as St. Mary's stayed with Concordia for most of the first half.
The Cobbers eventually came away with a 67-56 victory.
Throughout the first half, the cardinals' five players over six feet tall gave Concordia a hard time.
"They were out to play hard," said Walla. "We just dropped down to their level. We have to treat each team like they are the number one team."
St. Mary's used their edge to attempt many second-chance shots and limit the Cobbers' shots.
Concordia fell behind 12-6 early in the game as their turnovers provided easy lay-ups for St. Mary's. The Cobbers slowly narrowed their deficit and took their first lead of the game at 21-20 with a lay-up by Mehrkens.
St. Mary's jumped ahead again with another basket, but Holly Zollar's lay-up on the next trip down the court gave Concordia an advantage they would not lose again.
The Cobbers built a 32-25 halftime lead, where it remained for the most of the game. St. Mary's got to within five points, but that was the closest they would get as the Cobbers took the win.
Mehrkens led the team with 14 points on the night after making 7 of 11 shots from the floor. Schirm contributed 13 points including two three-pointers.
On Saturday, the Cobbers blitzed Macalester by a score of 80-55. Sophomore Rayna Heard scored 16 points to lead the team, followed by Mehrkens with 13 and Zollar with 12 points.
Tomorrow, the Cobbers travel to Bethel to take on the second place Royals. The winner will likely host their first two games in the playoffs which begin Feb. 28.
The Cobbers will host Hamline at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the final MIAC home game of the year.
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