ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Golden Eagles would attempt 36 free throws on the game, but it would be a free throw from Olivia Kubik along with an offensive rebound and free throw from Kennedy Helderop that would give CU the 78-76 road WHAC Tournament Quarterfinal victory at Concordia on Thursday evening. CU took advantage of a crucial Cardinal mistake in the final seconds to earn the road victory and advance to the WHAC Tournament Semifinal for the first time since 2017-18. Cornerstone will now travel to the top seed Indiana Tech on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. for their semifinal contest. 
 
Game Flow:
First Quarter:

• Kennedy Helderop and the Golden Eagle defense created havoc early holding Concordia scoreless for nearly the first two minutes of action. 
• The game struggled to find an early rhythm with four early fouls called with two on each team. Mackenzie Stien hit Cornerstone's first field goal to go on top 4-3. 
• After Concordia scored four straight, Kennedy Helderop walked right into a three that tied the game at seven with 6:08 to play in the first quarter. 
• After the Cardinals hit a pair of threes, CU used their first timeout trailing 15-9. 
• Four points from Stephanie Ainsworth and a three from Maddison Fulks kept Cornerstone close after one quarter, trailing 20-16. 

Second Quarter:

• Kaitlyn Cain and Stephanie Ainsworth got CU off to a great start in the second quarter, scoring the first four points to tie the game at 20. 
• The two teams would then trade buckets much of the second quarter as CU took the lead on a Jaxi Long and-one, 28-27 with 6:39 to play. 
• With CU trailing by one in the final minute of the half, Concordia's Emily McCalla hit a three to put the Cardinals on top 38-34 at halftime. 

Third Quarter: 

• In the third quarter, Mackenzie Stien scored three points to put Cornerstone back within one at 38-37. 
• Samantha Dorn hit a three for Concordia to put CUAA right back on top by four with 8:28 to play. 
• The two teams then went scoreless for nearly three minutes before Concordia and Cornerstone traded buckets. 
• Olivia Kubik later hit a big three at the 4:41 mark to bring Cornerstone back within a point at 43-42. Two free throws from Maddison Fulks put Cornerstone back on top just a few moments later. 
• Neither team would lead by more than three the remainder of the third quarter, as the game sat tied at 54 with 10 minutes to play. 

Fourth Quarter:

• The sister duo of Jaxi Long and Jaylee Long helped Cornerstone go on an 8-0 run early in the fourth to take a 62-58 advantage. Jaxi Long hit an and-one and Jaylee Long hit a three in the run. 
• After a Concordia timeout, Stephanie Ainsworth added a layup to make it a 10-0 run and put Cornerstone on top by their largest lead of six.
• A three ball again helped the Cardinals again get back into the game as Samantha Dorn hit another with 6:11 to play. 
• Concordia would then cut the lead to one on multiple occasions. CU had an answer though for each CUAA push with Mackenzie Stien and Olivia Kubik each hitting big buckets. 
• With just under three minutes to play some good passing led to a Stephanie Ainsworth trip to the free throw line. She went 1-2 at the stripe to put CU on top by two scores, 69-65. 
• After Concordia scored to cut it back to one possession, Maddison Fulks hit a huge three with 2:19 to play, making it 72-67. 
• The final two minutes would consist of pure chaos and a lot of free throw shooting. 
• The two sides traded free throws as Cornerstone led by three and did not want to give the Cardinals a chance to tie the game. After it went from a three point to a one-point game on multiple occasions, Maddison Fulks finally missed one to make it a two-point CU lead with 32 seconds to go. 
• With a chance to tie, Concordia could not do so as they again fouled Fulks. Fulks again went 1-2 at the line to make it 76-73 with 20 seconds to go. 
• Concordia missed a three to tie the game giving the ball to Cornerstone with all they needed to do is beat the press break to win the game. They were unable to do so, turning the ball over giving Emily McCalla the opportunity to tie it from three and she did just that with nine seconds to go. 
• McCalla would make the fatal mistake however in the final seconds, fouling Olivia Kubik with three seconds to play, sending her to the line with a chance to put Cornerstone back on top. Kubik went 1-2, but an offensive rebound by Kennedy Helderop forced another foul. Helderop would hit 1-2 as well as CU held on to win 78-76. 

 
By the numbers:
6/9/10/3 – Kennedy Helderop did a little bit of everything in the game today with six points, nine rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals. 
25-36 – Cornerstone went 25-36 from the free throw line, led by 10-12 from Maddison Fulks.
37 – Both teams saw a lot of turnovers as they combined for 37 on the game. 
 
What's next? 
Cornerstone
 
Women's Basketball Contact: Jesse Campbell
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