Concordia 71, Indiana Tech 64

(Feb. 6, 2010 - Ft. Wayne, Ind.) -- Count Elyse Schlump and Hannah Sabol as two people who like it when the day's opponent is the Indiana Tech Warriors. Schlump is averaging 15.5 points and 13 rebounds this season against the Warriors while Sabol averaged 16 points and 11 boards against Tech after the duo helped the Concordia women's basketball team complete the season sweep after a 71-64 win Saturday afternoon in Ft. Wayne. It was the second sweep of the season series for Concordia against Indiana Tech in the last three seasons.

On Saturday, the Cardinals pulled away in the first half turning a one-point lead into a 19-point halftime cushion as Concordia scored 22 of the final 26 points of the half over a 14:24 timespan.

A late surge by the Warriors saw the home team cut the deficit to as little as three points at 57-54 with 6:20 but a Kortni Elsworth (So. - Goodrich, Mich.) triple regained momentum and the closest Indiana Tech would get to would be four points for the duration of the game.

After shooting only 27 percent from the field in the first half, Tech improved to 40 percent in the final 20 minutes making the game much more competitive.  Despite surrendering much of their advantage, Concordia actually shot much better in the second  half themselves, as they hit on 52 percent of their attempts compared to 41 percent in the first-half.

For the game, Schlump recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds, all but one on the defensive end. With her 13 defensive rebounds, Schlump tied herself for fourth all-time with only Gretchen Krug and Kristy Bilbie recording more in a game. Krug set the school record with 15 on Jan. 23, 1990 against Nazareth College while also grabbing 14 against Malone College a few weeks later that season. Bilbie tied Krug for second all-time when she hauled in 14 defensive boards on Feb. 2, 2000 against Siena Heights University.

Sabol lead all scorers with 21 points while adding eight rebounds, with Elsworth dropping in 18 points with three rebounds and three assists. Kyrie Cramer (So. - Ida, Mich.) gave the Cards a fourth double-digit scorer as she had a dozen points with four boards and a block.

Hannah Thieke lead Indiana Tech with 18 points while Amanda Tipton had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The win is the 15th of the season for Concordia, tying the squad for fourth all-time for victories in a season. The 1983-84 and 1980-81 teams recorded 17 wins while the 1982-83 team set the school record with 23 victories.

Concordia is also one win away from clinching their first non-losing season since the 1985-86 season and two wins from sealing a winning season, the first in 24 seasons.

Equally important is the win keeps Concordia in a tie with Siena Heights for the fourth spot in the standings, which would give the Cardinals their first-ever home playoff game in the first-round of the WHAC tournament.

First for the Cardinals (15-11, 5-5 WHAC) are the Golden Eagles of Cornerstone, who will travel to Ann Arbor on Wednesday evening. Cornerstone is 14-11 on the season and 7-3 in conference. The game will be the first of three straight on the home court for Concordia as UM-Dearborn follows with a tilt on Feb. 13 and Aquinas College closes out the home regular season schedule on Feb. 17. The final regular season game of the year will be a short jaunt down the road to Madonna University on Feb. 20.

While the Cards will have to be focused each game from here on out, they will keep a watchful eye on the Saints of SHU, who host league-leading Davenport on Wednesday before two road games (at Indiana Tech on Feb. 13 and Cornerstone on Feb. 20). The Saints close out their regular season schedule with a home game against UM-Dearborn on Feb. 20. 

RECORD BOOK NOTES: Two Cards moved into the career top 10 for blocks as Kelly Cieslak is currently fifth all-time with 37, while Kyrie Cramer moved into 10th with 26. Megan Mannarino moved into the top 10 for assists with 159, tying her with Richelle Gerstenberg (Class of '06). Mannarino is also currently 7th all-time for career steals with 130.