Lourdes jumped out to a 28-point lead midway through the first half on Wednesday evening before cruising to a 79-60 victory over Concordia (Mich.) at Tam-o-Shanter to give the Gray Wolves their first victory ever against the Cardinals in seven tries.
 
"This was a much needed win," head coach Karen McConnell said after the triumph.  "I felt like we got a lot of energy off of the bench.  When players went in the game they were working hard."
 
Lourdes made 14 of its first 18 shots from the floor on the evening and after scoring the game's first 10 points, built a 33-5 lead just over 11 minutes into the contest.  The Gray Wolves never let the lead fall below 22 the remainder of the half, taking a 47-23 lead into the locker room.
 
The Gray Wolves shot 61.3% from the floor in the opening half while holding Concordia to just a 26.7% clip.  Lourdes also forced 13 turnovers in the opening stanza and outscored the Cardinals 26-6 in the paint over the first 20 minutes of action.
 
"It has been awhile since we came out this explosive," McConnell added.
 
An Emily Orsini (Akron, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban H.S.) three-pointer pushed the lead to 29, Lourdes largest of the day, with 17:47 to play.  Concordia tried to chip away, but Lourdes never let the lead get below 22 until a 13-4 run by the Cardinals closed the gap to 15, 71-56, with just over five minutes remaining in the game.  The Gray Wolves ended the run though and in the process snapped their seven-game losing skid.
 
"We did have our lulls tonight, especially in the second half," McConnell commented.  "At times we fell back into what we had been doing.  I was just glad we had such a large lead."
 
Jessica Durr (North Royalton, Ohio/North Royalton H.S.) had a double-double, scoring 22 points and grabbing 14 rebounds off of the bench.  Orsini added 17 points while Lauren Tilden (Ravenna, Ohio/Ravenna H.S.) chipped in 15 points.
 
"Lauren has seemed to lead us all year," McConnell concluded.  "It was nice to see the others help out with the offense.  Emily has struggled a little lately so it was nice to see her get back on track."
 
Lourdes finished the game shooting 54.4% from the floor and outrebounded Concordia 41-28.  The Gray Wolves finished with a 15-2 advantage in second chance points.
 
Brianna Rowe paced Concordia (2-15, 1-9 WHAC) with 17 points while Kari Borowiak added 16 and Michelle Murnen contributed 14 points for the Cardinals.
 
Lourdes (6-11, 2-7) will conclude its three-game homestand on Saturday afternoon as the Gray Wolves welcome 11^th-ranked Siena Heights to Tam-o-Shanter.  Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.