MOORHEAD, Minn. – Macalester College visited Concordia College (Minn.) for a Valentine's day duel this afternoon. The Cobbers beat the Scots 77-49. Mac falls to 2-20 overall and 1-15 in the MIAC, while Concordia ascends to 20-3 overall and 14-2 in the MIAC. The Cobbers remain the top team in the conference and are the first to clinch a playoff berth.

The MIAC's best team came out hot with a 14-0 run. Junior guard Sydnee Smith (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) broke the scoring seal for Mac halfway through the first quarter with a pair of free throws. Sophomore forward Cady Davis (Minneapolis, Minn./Roosevelt) joined her as the Scots' other scorer in the first frame when she hit a layup with 20 seconds left in the period. The Cobbers finished the first quarter with a 28-4 lead that would put Mac in a hole for the rest of the game.

In the second quarter, the Scots found some of their offensive footing. First-year guard Faith Accardo (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Oaks Christian) hit a three-pointer to open Mac's attack. The Scots would go on to hit three more three-pointers in the quarter, with makes from first-year guard Megan Matthews (Boulder, Co./Boulder) and senior forward Ellie Corbett (Austin, Texas/James Bowie) in the middle of the period and one from Smith right at the end. The Scots entered the half down 52-22.

After both teams came out cold to start the second half, Matthews hit a three to heat things up. The Cobbers responded, but junior guard Mary Daley (Cumberland, R.I./Bishop Feehan) and Smith each hit layups to keep pace. Neither team could manage much more than that in the low-scoring period, though. Mac entered the final frame down 63-29.

Davis scored the Scots' first seven points of the fourth quarter, starting with a three-pointer off a dime from junior guard Kendall Bernbaum (Dallas, Texas/Shelton School), then a fastbreak layup assisted by Smith and a layup in the halfcourt off another Bernbaum assist. From there, sophomore forward Emma Karlin (Rockville, Md./RIchard Montgomery), Smith and Accardo all made contributions to the Scots' highest-scoring quarter of the day. Accardo managed to match Davis's seven points in the period.

Mac ended up outscoring the Cobbers 20-14 in the fourth, while Concordia went on to win the game. After Concordia's high-scoring opening period, the Scots managed to play the Cobbers close. Concordia only outscored the Scots 49-45 through the final three quarters.

Davis led Mac in scoring with 11 points. Accardo finished right behind her with 10 points to go along with three assists. Smith posted nine points and six rebounds. Matthews led the team in assists with four and managed six points and six rebounds of her own. Corbett finished with five points and four rebounds.

Macalester returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 18 against Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. The game starts at 7 p.m. and will be the Scots' second-to-last of the season.