East Stroudsburg, PA – The Concordia College Clippers women's basketball team participated in the 47th Annual East Stroudsburg Classic this evening as they faced off against Notre Dame (Ohio). After finding themselves down by double digits at the half, the Clippers were unable to mount a comeback as the Falcons captured their first win of the season, 72-61.
Concordia began the game matching Notre Dame point-for-point as neither team was able to build a sizeable lead. After two free throws by the Falcons, the Clippers were down by five with 10:40 remaining in the half. A 10-1 run in the next four minutes allowed Concordia to take a four point lead as the minutes were winding down in the first half.
Once Notre Dame tied the game at 26-26 with less than five minutes to play, the team went on a hot streak in which the Clippers could not stop. The Falcons closed the remainder of the half on a 17-6 run as they went into the locker room with an 11 point lead, 43-32.
Concordia looked for a spark to get them back into the game as they cut the deficit to single digits four minutes into the second half. Notre Dame started to get sloppy with the ball midway through the half but the Clippers were unable to capitalize on their opponents' mistakes. Concordia went a span of 4:43 without a made field goal as both teams struggled to put any points on the scoreboard.
Once the Clippers managed to break their scoreless streak, they went on an 11-3 run to get within seven points of the Falcons with only 7:20 to go. Concordia went on another scoreless streak and were unable to overcome the deficit as time ran out for them.
First-Year forward Alyssa Dawson (Westwood, NJ) led Concordia with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field while chipping in with three assists and two rebounds. Senior Chanessa Blakemore (Albany, NY) recorded a career high 22 rebounds while adding 13 points and five blocks for her fourth straight double-double. As a team, the Clippers shot 31.0% (22-of-71) from the field while connecting on only one three-point attempt (1-of-16). Notre Dame managed to outscore Concordia on points off turnovers (24-to-12) and their bench outscored the Clippers' bench 31-to-5.
The Clippers (1-4, 0-0 CACC) conclude the East Stroudsburg Classic tomorrow as they will face the hosts, East Stroudsburg University at 5pm. The game can be viewed via Live Stats under the women's schedule page on ConcordiaClippers.com.