MOORHEAD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's basketball team fought back from a nine-point deficit in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter to force overtime before Concordia-Moorhead claimed a 69-63 victory on Wednesday evening at memorial Auditorium.

Concordia (13-7, 8-5 MIAC) held a 50-41 lead with 5:53 remaining in the fourth quarter before St. Olaf (6-14, 0-13 MIAC) rallied to force overtime by outscoring the Cobbers by a 17-8 margin. In the extra session, Carlee Sieben and Makayla Anderson combined for 10 of Concordia's 11 points, as the hosts held on to stay in the sixth and final playoff spot.

Sophomore Chloee Smith registered her fifth double-double of the season with 16 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots, and three steals, as St. Olaf's starting five accounted for all 63 of the team's points on the night. Senior Sarah Tangen was a career-best 4-for-5 from three-point range on her way to a season-high 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while classmate Sophia Kormann added 15 points, fie rebounds, and four assists.

Senior Ziling Zhen scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter to spark the Oles' late rally. St. Olaf shot 47.4 percent (27-for-57) from the field for its fourth-best shooting performance of the season but was outscored 16-3 at the free-throw line after shooting just four free throws to Concordia's 24.

Anderson led the Cobbers with a double-double of 23 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals, while Greta Tollefson was an efficient 6-for-7 from the field on her 14-point night. Concordia shot 39.7 percent (25-for-63) overall and just 18.8 percent (3-for-16) from three-point range but turned 26 St. Olaf turnovers into 26 points.

After Concordia scored the game's first four points, St. Olaf got the next seven to go up 7-4 inside the first three minutes. The Cobbers responded with a 10-2 run to take the largest lead of the quarter at 14-9 and took a 14-11 lead into the second.

An eight-point second quarter from Smith helped the Oles grab a 27-26 halftime lead, as Smith was 3-for-4 from the field and 2-for-3 from three-point range in the period. Concordia held the largest lead of the first half at 24-17 before St. Olaf held the Cobbers to two points over the final 7:14 as part of a 10-2 close to the half. All eight of Smith's points in the quarter came over the final 4:14.

As it did to start the game, Concordia scored the first four points of the third quarter to reclaim the lead and took a 41-37 lead into the fourth after holding St. Olaf to 10 points in the period. The Cobbers matched their largest lead of the game at the time at 40-33 before back-to-back baskets from Smith brought the Oles closer.

St. Olaf shot 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from the field in a 21-point fourth quarter to extend the game to overtime, led by 15 combined points from Zhen and Tangen. A layup by Anderson with 5:53 left gave Concordia its largest lead of the night at 50-41, but Tangen scored the next seven points as part of a 9-0 run that tied the game with 2:37 remaining in the fourth.

Over the final 1:06 of regulation, St. Olaf tied the score three times on baskets by Zhen, sophomore Joy Brandenstein, and Kormann, the last of which tied it at 58-58 with 25 seconds to go. After a Concordia timeout, Smith blocked a layup to give the Oles a chance at the final shot, but Tangen's contested layup did not go in the final seconds.

After being held to two points through four quarters, Sieben opened overtime with a three-pointer and had five points during the Cobbers' 7-0 start to the extra session. Tangen kept the Oles in it with a three-pointer midway through that made it a four-point game, but St. Olaf scored just two points over the remaining 2:45.

The Oles will host Augsburg University on Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. There will be free admission as part of a National Girls & Women in Sports Day celebration.