Third Quarter Thwarts Cobbers' Championship Double Bid
Concordia was outscored 21-14 in the third quarter and lost to Bethel in the MIAC playoff championship game as the Cobbers were attempting to capture the championship double.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/28/26)---The championship double wasn't meant to be for Concordia.
The Cobbers, who claimed the more important regular season championship, lost 62-55 to Bethel in the championship game of the conference tournament.
The loss gives the Cobbers a 23-4 record heading into the NCAA Tournament, which will be announced on Monday, Mar. 2. Bethel wins for the sixth straight game and ups its record to 22-6.
The difference in the game came down to the third quarter. The teams were deadlocked in points at 41-41 in the first. Second and fourth periods of play but Concordia was outscored 21-14 in the third quarter which proved to be the final margin of victory.
The Cobbers made five fewer field goals and turned the ball over six times in the decisive third quarter.
In addition to the difference in the third quarter, 3-point shooting proved to be one of the major factors in the game. The Cobbers connected on only three shots from outside the arc and shot 27.3% from distance as opposed to the Royals who went 8-for-23 (34.8%) from 3-point range and had a pair of players who entered the game with a combined eight 3-pointers for the season, step up and drain three shots from outside the arc in the game.
Despite their stumble in the third quarter, Concordia still had a chance down the stretch. CC trailed by six entering the final period and cut the lead down to two points on three occasions but each time the Royals responded with the very next basket to keep CC from getting a chance to tie the game.
The final push by the Cobbers came with 3:19 to play when Maya Metcalf got inside to knock home a short jumper which cut the margin to 55-53. Bethel answered with a 4-0 run to up the score to 59-53 with 1:24 and CC could never get to within four points for the final 70 seconds.
Kaia Gack led Concordia with 10 points. It's the first time all season she has led the team in scoring.
Molly Musland and Genevieve Gruba both had a team-high seven rebounds. Musland also had nine points.
First-year point guard Kaitlyn Rohloff was able to get free off the dribble and had eight points to go with three assists and one steal.
Metcalf finished with eight points and six assists.
Concordia will find out who, and where, their first-round opponent will be on Monday, Mar. 2 at 1:30 p.m. (cst) as part of the NCAA Selection Show.
