(Ann Arbor, MI) - The Concordia Cardinals women's basketball team advanced to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) semifinals for the third time in the last four years after downing Lourdes, 79-56, on Wednesday night at home. The Cardinals will travel to Siena Heights for the semifinal match on Friday night for an appearance in the Championship game on Monday evening.
GAME INFORMATION
#3 Concordia Cardinals at #2 (RV)Siena Heights
March 1 | 7:00 PM | Siena Heights Fieldhouse | Adrian, MI
Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets
ABOUT THE SAINTS
The 26-3 Siena Heights Saints, led by Sue Syljebeck in her 20th season, finished second following the WHAC regular season. They advance to the semifinal match following a 61-45 win over the seventh-seed Lawrence Tech Blue Devils. Three players scored in double-figures with Kayla Hinton leading the charge at 17 points.
Hinton on the year is the sole Saint who averages double-figures in points with 14.6 on the season. Hinton is followed by Oliva DeLong (9.0), Jillian Gelso (8.4), and Jakarri Alven (8.2).
E'Anna Won and DeLong each bring down 6.6 rebounds per game, while Hinton leads the team in assists per game at 4.3.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals are led by second-year head coach Elyse Schlump who has led the team to a 20-9 overall record on the year and the third seed in the WHAC playoffs. The Cardinals upended the Gray Wolves on Wednesday with four Cardinals scoring double figures, being led by Abby Long (19), Jess Andrew (16), Elle Kallner (12), and Taylor Leatherman (11).
Both Abby Long and Taylor Leatherman average double-figures in points scoring 17.3 and 14.5 a game.
Leatherman leads the team in rebounds per game as she brings in 8.1 per game. Alexx Braddock and Ellery Baker bring down 6.3 and 5.1 rebounds a game respectively. Long averages 4.2 assists per game as well.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT (PREVIOUS MATCHUPS)
The Saints have taken both of the previous games this season, winning the first on January 17, 72-68 and the latest on February 17, 75-59.
The January game featured Abby Long leading all scorers with 29 points, with Kayla Hinton scoring 20 on the evening. Alexx Braddock and Oliva DeLong lead both teams with 11 rebounds.
Kayla Hinton led all scorers in the February game with 23 points. For Concordia, they were led by Julia Hirt scoring 13 points and Ellery Baker brought down 7 rebounds to lead both teams.
STAT COMPARISON
|
Siena Heights |
Concordia |
|
|
Points per Game |
70.1 |
66.1 |
|
Opponent Points per Game |
49.7 |
59.2 |
|
Field Goal % |
41.7% |
38.0% |
|
Free Throw % |
66.3% |
69.1% |
|
3-Point % |
35.0% |
30.1% |
|
Assists per Game |
13.0 |
13.5 |
|
Rebounds per Game |
42.9 |
39.2 |
|
Turnovers per Game |
13.1 |
14.2 |
|
Steals per Game |
9.0 |
6.4 |
|
Blocks per Game |
3.4 |
1.2 |
WHAC TOURNAMENT
Feb. 28, Mar. 1, Mar. 4
Top 8 teams in regular-season standings qualify
Higher seeds host in all rounds
First Round - Wednesday, Feb. 28
#1 Indiana Tech def. #8 Aquinas - 61-52
#2 Siena Heights def. #7 Lawrence Tech - 61-45
#3 Concordia def. #6 Lourdes -79-56
#4 Cornerstone def. #5 Rochester - 78-73
Semifinals - Friday, Mar. 1
#4 Cornerstone at #1 Indiana Tech - 6 PM
#3 Concordia at #2 Siena Heights - 7 PM
Championship - Monday, Mar. 4
Automatic Berths to NAIA Opening Round
1. Winner of the regular season - Indiana Tech
2. Winner of conference tournament (tournament runner-up receives berth if #1 and #2 are the same)
