River Forest, Ill. -- It was a tremendous week for the Concordia University Chicago women's basketball team, picking up a pair of conference wins in front of the home fans at Geiseman. 

They defeated Edgewood College in a thriller on Tuesday night by a final score of 74-73 before handling Alverno College on Saturday 60-24. 

Five Cougars scored in double-figures in the come-from-behind win over the Eagles on Tuesday night, led by junior Bailey Steinkamp (Cary, Ill.) who had a season-high 19 points. It was Steinkamp who delivered the go-ahead layup with 28.1 to play before forcing a steal and icing the game with free throws. 

The team lit it up from beyond the arc with a 7-12 performance. Senior Ava Gardner (Park Ridge, Ill.) was the main catalyst, shooting 3-4 from three-point territory. 

In their dominating win over Alverno, the Cougars set a new school record by allowing just six points in the first half. The strong defensive effort led to 37 points off of turnovers in what was a total team effort on the part of CUC.

When all was said and done, 14 different CUC players scored, with 40 of their 60 points coming in the paint. 

After playing their first six games at home, the team will hit the road on Tuesday for a non-conference contest at Central College in Pella, Iowa. They'll return to conference play this weekend with a road tilt at Marian University on Saturday. Tip-off for the games are set for 5:30 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. 

In their conference opener on Wednesday night, the men's basketball team handled Edgewood and cruised to an 82-58 victory at Geiseman. They were catapulted by an outstanding defensive effort that included ten steals and 12 blocks. 

Senior Jalen Meeks (Aurora, Colo.) led the way offensively with 15 points on 6-9 shooting and four assists. 

The Cougars dominated in several crucial categories, including out-scoring the Eagles 48-32 in the paint, 11-1 in second chance points, 19-5 on fast breaks, and 43-5 in bench points.

They'll be back in Geiseman Monday evening to take on Concordia University Wisconsin at 7 p.m. as they look to move to 2-0 in conference play. They then hit the road this weekend for a battle with Marian on Saturday, with tip-off scheduled for 4:15 p.m. 

This past Saturday marked the beginning of the indoor season for CUC's men's and women's track and field teams as they competed at the ONU Holiday Open in Bourbonnais, Ill. 

Two Cougars broke school records at the meet: senior Madeline Bobinski (Des Plaines, Ill.) with a throw of 12.95 meters in the shot put, and junior Zahra Sammour (Berwyn, Ill.) with a mark of 11.69 meters in the triple jump. That distance is currently second in the country, as Sammour took home first place at the meet. 

Junior Lora Haupt (Northville, Ill.) was also victorious in her event, taking home first in the pole vault with a mark of 2.97 meters. Senior Angelina Nichols (Chicago, Ill.) took second in the 800 meter finals with a time of 2:28.05. 

On the men's side, senior Gustavo Alvarez (Chicago, Ill.) finished in third place in the pole vault with a mark of 4.50 meters. On the track, senior Maximilian Woywod (Berwyn, Ill.) finished in the top-20 in the 200 meter finals and sixth in the 400 meter. 

It's a long layoff before their next meet, the Phoenix Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 8, at the University of Chicago. Following that meet, the indoor season will heat up and get into full swing.