Concordia 72, Aquinas 56

(Feb. 17, 2010 - Ann Arbor, Mich.) -- Most, if not all, of the Concordia women's basketball team were in elementary school the last time the Cardinals were victorious in a game against the Aquinas Saints. Not since 2001 has Concordia been on the winning side, but in a season where things are rapidly changing, this year's team is continuing to prove that it's a whole new world. After knocking off the Saints 72-56, the Cards not only stopped an 18-game losing streak in the series but moved into a second-place tie with Aquinas with one game left in the regular season. All from a team that was clearly misjudged by conference coaches who picked the Cards dead last prior to the start of the season.

Hannah Sabol (Fr. - Shelby Twp., Mich.), the reigning conference Player of the Week, has staked an early claim to repeating as she scored 26 points off of 12-of-14 shooting to lead the Concordia effort.

The Cardinals trailed by as much as five points early at 9-4, but Concordia scored 24 of the final 34 points in the half to head to the locker room with a nine-point cushion at 28-19.

Sabol had already posted 14 points at the break, almost matching the output of the entire Saint team.

The Saints came marching back as they pulled to within a bucket at 32-30 but Kelly Cieslak (Fr. - Brighton, Mich.) struck from downtown to pull the momentum back into the Cardinal favor.

Cieslak had nine points for the game with five rebounds and two assists.

The Cards would use an eight-point run to build their first double-digit lead at 43-32 with 12:11 remaining. Sabol would score twice in the paint, Kortni Elsworth (So.- Goodrich, Mich.) would sink a freebie and Elyse Schlump (Jr. - Cedar Springs, Mich.) thrust the proverbial dagger in with a triple.

Elsworth would finish with 12 points, five assists and four rebounds while Schlump had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds, as well as four assists.

Aquinas would use a mini-spurt to pull within a half-dozen points, but Concordia retaliated with another eight-point run and Concordia would put 14 points between the two teams. Eventually, the lead would grow as large as 18 and the closest Aquinas would get would be a dozen down the stretch.

Kyrie Cramer (So. - Ida, Mich.) had a solid night from the field hitting 5-of-8 shots to finish with 12 points along with three rebounds.

With Cornerstone's win over Siena Heights on Wednesday, there is now a three-team tie for second place with the Golden Eagles, Cardinals and Aquinas. Madonna is hovering just on the outside with a 7-6 conference mark.

Saturday afternoon will surely be a day where four teams will keep a watchful eye on the out-of-town scoreboard as playoff positioning will finally be determined on the league's final regular season day. While the Cardinals will play at Madonna, Aquinas will host Indiana Tech and Cornerstone will travel to Davenport.

A win for Concordia (18-11, 8-5 WHAC) will clinch their first-ever home playoff game and could also have the Cardinals thinking something that hasn't been done in 26 years: a 20-win season.