Women's Basketball uses 4th quarter rally to defeat Aurora

MEQUON, Wis. – Concordia University Wisconsin found itself in unfamiliar territory on Saturday afternoon, but came together and used a 22-10 run over the final eight minutes of the game to earn a gritty 60-57 victory over Aurora University. The Falcons remain undefeated with the win and atop the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference standings.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Concordia Wisconsin 60, Aurora 57
Location: R. John Buuck Field House (Mequon, Wis.)
Records: Concordia Wisconsin 6-0 (5-0 NACC), Aurora 3-6 (2-2 NACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
- CUW trailed for just over a combined five minutes during its previous five games this season, but had to dig deep in the fourth quarter on Saturday. The Falcons found themselves down by nine points in the final quarter before putting together an outstanding 22-10 scoring run over the final 8:03 of the game.
- The play of the game that swung the momentum for good with an unlikely, and what could be the bigger shot of her career, a 3-pointer by junior Samantha Blissett (Springfield, Ill.) from the corner in front of her bench with a minute-and-a-half to play.
- CUW struggled to score at times, but found its rhythm at the charity stripe making 9-of-11 in the final quarter. Senior Madelyn Landgraf (Elkhart Lake, Wis.) sank 6-of-7 free throws in the final 10 minutes of play.
- There were six scoring ties and four lead changes in the tightly-contested matchup. CUW finished with a 36-24 advantage in paint scoring, while nearly every other statistical category was even.
- Sophomore Brianna Wagner (Fond du Lac, Wis.) paced the Falcons with 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Her third block of the game was an important defensive play because on the ensuing offensive possession Blissett hit the crowd-erupting 3-pointer.
- Landgraf added 15 points, to go along with four rebounds and five steals.
- Freshman Marciarae' Harmon (Milwaukee, Wis.) had a career game with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while also grabbing five rebounds and assisting on two field goals.
- Sophomore Audrey Scharmer (Winona, Minn.) ended with five points and five rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Falcons 6-0 start is the second best in program history, only to the 9-0 start put together by the 2013-14 team.
- Digging deeper in the outstanding scoring run to take over the game in the fourth quarter, saw CUW outscore Aurora 10-5 in the final four minutes and 18 seconds.
- Landgraf's five steals were a career high. She has now stolen 11 passes in the last three games.
- The Falcons allowed 32 rebounds, which were a new season-low for an opponent.

THE OPPOSITION
- Bethany Dorrington led all scorers with 19 points on 6-of-18 shooting, while Mallory Cast added 12 points.
- Anna Roszkowski recorded the games only double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
- Natalie Branch added seven points, three assists and stole two passes off the bench.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- The Falcons will travel to sunny Puerto Rico for back-to-back games on Dec. 20 vs. Stockton and Dec. 21 against No. 13 New England.