Women's Basketball gains NACC road win over Concordia Chicago

RIVER FOREST, Ill. – Megan Coenen recorded a double-double and Katie Luethe scored a team-best 21 points to lead the Concordia University Wisconsin to a 69-66 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference women's basketball road win over Concordia University Chicago Saturday afternoon.

The contest was back-and-forth most of the afternoon, with CUW holding its largest lead of 10 at 66-56 with 3:14 remaining in the game. The Cougars then scored seven straight points to trim the Falcons lead to three before Coenen (sophomore, Green Bay, Wis.) made a layup with 1:07 remaining, putting the Falcons in front by five. CUC then cut the lead to 68-66 on a 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining, but the CUW defense was able to get a couple late stops, prevailing 69-66.

The turnover battle was a big reason CUW was able to pick up the conference win. The Falcons forced 23 turnovers in the game, while committing just 10 themselves. CUW scored 22 points of those 23 CUC turnovers, while the Cougars scored seven points off turnovers in the loss.

The Falcons struggled shooting the ball, finishing the game at 32.9 percent (26-for-79), including 7.1 percent (1-for-14) from 3-point range. CUC finished the game shooting 40.8 percent (20-for-49) from the floor and were able to keep the game close thanks to quality free throw shooting, going 21-for-23 (91.3 percent) from the line.

Coenen scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half for the Falcons and also finished the game 7-for-11 from the floor. Luethe (senior, Oshkosh, Wis.) scored 10 points in the first half and 11 after the break. The Falcons also shot free throws well in the second half, going 13-for-17 from the line over the final 20 minutes of play.

CUC was led by Jessica Genke as she poured in a game-high 26 points. Kassy Koehler finished with a game-best 13 rebounds for the Cougars, while the Falcons Anna Butler (senior, Kewaskum, Wis.) dished out seven assists to lead all players.

CUW will return to action Tuesday as they will host UW-La Crosse in its home opener. The Falcons and Eagles will begin play at 7 p.m. at the R. John Buuck Field House as the game starts a three-game home swing for the Falcons.