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MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/17/10)-- After grabbing a 15-point lead with 16:50 to play in the game, Concordia had hold off St. Kate's in the final minutes to come away with a 76-71 win Moorhead on Wednesday. The Cobbers had all five starters score in double figures and shot 57.1% (8-for-14) from 3-point range as they won their 17th game of the year.

The Cobbers are now 17-7 overall and 16-5 in the MIAC. With the win, Concordia clinches a home playoff game in the upcoming conference playoff. If CC wins on Saturday against ninth-place St. Olaf they will be locked into the No.2 or No.3 seed for the league tournament which begins on Monday, Feb. 22.

Concordia was never able to pull away and get comfortable against the Wildcats. The Cobbers led for the entire first half and an 8-0 run at the end of the first 20 minutes pushed CC to a 10-point lead at 36-26 at the break.

It looked as if Concordia would be able to coast in the final 10 minutes of the game after they built a 15-point lead at 45-30 with 16:50 to play. That's when the Wildcat inside game started to click and the St. Kate's defense started to slow down the Cobber offensive sets. The Wildcats went on a 21-7 spurt over the next six minutes to pull all the way back to within one point at 52-51. During that run, St. Kate's scored on five lay-ups and had connected on four free throws that were directly linked to their play around the basket.

Cobber senior Anna Matetich would hit on a pair of critical 3-point shots in the next five minutes. After the Wildcats grabbed the momentum with the big run, Matetich hit from outside the arc to give CC a four-point lead at 55-51 with just under 10:00 to play. Matetich then hit on another crucial long-range shot with just under 5:00 play. The teams traded field goals for a 5-minute period and then St. Kate's took their second lead of the game at 61-60 with 5:20 to play. Matetich then canned her third 3-pointer of the game to regain the lead, a lead CC wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the second half.

Concordia had all five starters score in double figures and didn't have a player with more than 16 points in the game. Matetich had a team-high 16 points, was 3-for-3 from behind the arc and had a game-high four steals. Maggie Bauernfeind and Sara Sorbo added 13 points each and Lindsey Schultz and Erica Nord posted 11 points each. Bauernfeind also had a team-high seven rebounds and Schultz tied a season high with six assists.

St. Kate's (11-13/10-11 MIAC) was led by junior Laura Kalbfell who had 24 points and was 10-for-15 from the floor. Molly Peterson had 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Amy Battey and Sonja Ellingson both had 13 points in the game as the quartet accounted for 85.9% of the team's total scoring.

The Cobbers shot 56.0% (14-for-25) from the floor in the first half but then cooled to only 38.7% (12-for-31) in the second half. CC shot over at least 50.0% from behind the arc and finished the game by shooting 57.1%. St. Kate's shot 49.1% (25-for-53) from the field but just 36.4% (4-for-11) from 3-point range.

Concordia outrebounded the Wildcats 33-29 but CSC held a 38-20 in points in the paint. Both teams turned the ball over 17 times. In a rare occasion for the season, the Cobbers had an opponent get out and run the ball up the court in transition. The Wildcats had a 23-11 advantage in points off of turnovers.

The Cobbers will close out the regular season when they host St. Olaf on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 1 p.m.