(Sylvania, OH) – Concordia women's basketball traveled to Lourdes on Saturday night for their last contest before the Christmas break. The contest was low-scoring with hard-fought defense and the Cardinals leading through most of the game. Lourdes pulled ahead by a point with 7 seconds left, but two clutch free throws from Brooke Brauher clinched the 49-48 win.
Abby Long led all scorers with 17 points. Taylor Leatherman had a double-double with 14 points and a team-high 15 rebounds. Brooke Brauher was third with 9 points.
Abby Long hit a 3-pointer for Concordia's first basket in a low-scoring first quarter. Brooke Brauher converted a layup, but Lourdes rallied to take a 6-5 lead. After nearly four scoreless minutes Abby Long drained another high-arcing triple to put CUAA ahead 8-6.
Ellery Baker scored inside to open the second quarter. Taylor Leatherman had a free throw along with a layup and Abby Long drained a jumper and drove to the hoop. Late baskets from Chloe Bisballe and Long put CUAA ahead 23-16 at halftime.
Taylor Leatherman knocked down a jumpshot to open the third quarter. Lourdes used an 8-0 run to tighten the game until Leatherman stopped the run with another jumper. Chloe Bisballe knocked down a shot through traffic and Abby Long continued to make smooth drives to the basket. Free throws from Taylor Leatherman put CUAA ahead 33-30 after the third quarter.
Chloe Bisballe made another high-arcing jumper to start the 4th. Taylor Leatherman finished an "and-1" and continued to combine with Abby Long to pace the offense. Brooke Brauher made a putback and a reverse layup to give the Cardinals a 47-42 lead.
Lourdes rallied to take a 48-47 lead after free throws with 7 seconds remaining. Concordia called timeout to start with the ball in the offensive zone. Drawing a double team, Abby Long passed to Brooke Brauher who drew contact inside. Brauher's two critical free throws along with a defensive stop clinched the hard-fought 49-48 win as time expired.
Concordia will return home to host Marian on December 30 at 1pm.
