The Muskies had been on a winning streak in the series with the Cougars until their meeting just over a month ago, when Concordia handled Lakeland 83-66 on Jan. 17 in River Forest, Ill. That marked CUC's first win in the series in four seasons; before that, the Muskies had won five straight over Concordia Chicago, including most recently a 77-51 victory at home last year on Jan. 11, 2025, as Halle Boldt scored 20 points. Nearly all of the history between the two teams dates back to the two joining the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference in 2006, with the only meeting before that coming Nov. 17, 2001, with Lakeland rolling to a 90-46 win at home.

Lakeland last time out: Lost at Concordia Wisconsin 70-62 last Saturday
A fourth quarter run by the Falcons was the difference in a game that was close throughout in Mequon. Lakeland led 51-49 with less than eight minutes left in the game but then went without a point for nearly six minutes while Concordia used a 12-0 run to take the lead and go on to the win. A.T. Bartlett scored 16 points and added seven rebounds and Jiaryatou Cisse posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Falcons won the lone meeting between the teams this season and clinched a spot in the NACC Tournament, while Lakeland now faces a must-win game in order to keep its hopes alive for a spot in the tourney.

Concordia Chicago last time out: Defeated Dominican 69-67 Wednesday
The Cougars scratched and clawed and finally found a way past their River Forest rivals from just down the street to stay a game in front of Lakeland in the NACC standings. Concordia fell behind 7-0 to start the game, trailed by as much as 11 and never led until Naveya Jackson's layup with 20 seconds left in the contest provided the game-winning points. CUC shot 35% (21 of 60), including 5 of 25 from three-point range, but Jackson converted a three-point play with 30 seconds left to tie it and then scored the go-ahead bucket soon after to complete a season sweep of the Stars. Jackson finished with 19 points, Ai Yonemura scored 16, Sophia Pedraza totaled 12 and Grace King added nine points plus 11 rebounds.

Recapping the first meeting: The Muskies were in trouble virtually from the start, as Concordia Chicago ran out to a 12-2 lead to start the game on the way to a huge first half. The Cougars led 28-14 after one quarter and scored 52 first half points, leading by as many as 29 points in the second quarter. CUC shot 64.3% in the first half and finished at 54% for the game, with Naveya Jackson and Ai Yonemura both scoring 21 points and combining to make 14 of 23 shots. A.T. Bartlett scored 17 points and Alexis Johnson added 16 for Lakeland, which shot 36.5% including 5 of 30 from three-point range. The Muskies did finish with a huge 41-23 rebounding advantage, including 24 offensive rebounds turned into a 20-4 lead in points in the paint.

Senior Day, big day: Lakeland is playing its regular season finale and at home for the final time this season, as Saturday will mark the final home game for seniors Amari Banks, A.T. Bartlett, Alexis Johnson and Lauryn Johnson. It also could be the final game of their careers, as the Muskies enter needing a win to possibly extend their season. Lakeland enters the game behind Concordia Chicago in the NACC standings, and one of the two will clinch the eighth and final spot in the NACC Tournament. Concordia will wrap up the spot with a win, while a Muskies win will mean the teams finish in a tie at 9-9 in conference. The teams will have then split their two regular season meetings, meaning the tiebreaker will go down to a complex formula rating the teams based on quality of wins and losses throughout the NACC season.