KANSAS CITY, MO. – The Golden Bear women's basketball team (1-1) closed out the 2017 Central Region Challenge on Saturday evening with a 78-67 win over the Harding Bison (0-2), who are currently ranked third in the nation.
The Bison scored the first points of the game, but that was the only lead they would have all game, as the Bears took over from there, spending the next 38 minutes ahead of the Bison. CSP's largest lead of the game would come during the third quarter, when they led 66-46.
Junior guard
Anna Schmitt led the Bears with 27 points, and also added six assists and two steals. The Waconia native was also 9-10 from the free-throw line. Junior
Hanna Vidlund had a career-high 17 points, making five of her eight attempts from the field and four of her six attempts from the three-point line.
Lindsay Dorr and Ellie Gess also got in on the scoring action, with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Freshman Danielle Schaub chipped in as well, scoring eight points, which were her first as a Golden Bear. Senior
Kyrah Fredenburg led the team in rebounding, racking up 12 boards, as Schmitt and Dorr each had five of their own.
The Bears shot well all game, finishing with better percentages in every shooting category than their opponents. They shot 49% from the field (25-51), 50% from behind the arc (11-22), and 75% from the free-throw line (18-24), whereas the Bison shot 42.9% from the field, 16.7% from the three-point line, and 66.7% from the free-throw line.
Both benches were very active on the night, with the Concordia bench scoring 20 points and the Harding bench coming through with almost half of their team's points, scoring 32 points throughout the game. The Bears especially cashed in on points from the free-throw line, scoring nine in each half. CSP finished the game with 12 points off turnovers and scored 11 after offensive rebounds.
The Golden Bears started the game on an 11-2 scoring run, forcing the Bison to take a time out early in the quarter. CSP did not let up, leading by 11 with a little under three minutes left in the first quarter and led 23-16 when the first quarter came to a close. At one point in the second quarter, the Bison were able to get the score to within five, but the Bears answered, scoring the next seven points to widen the lead once again. The Bears held Harding scoreless for the last two minutes of the half and went into the break leading 39-27.
In the second half, the Bears continued to pull away throughout the half. At one point in the third quarter, the Bison came within eight, but that was as close as they would get as the Bears kept adding to their lead, including scoring eight unanswered points late in the third quarter. CSP was up by 19 entering the fourth quarter and held off the Bison for the remaining ten minutes of play, finishing with a score of 78-67.
The Bears are off until their home-opener against non-conference opponent Northern Michigan. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Gangelhoff Center. If you are unable to make it in person, make sure to follow along online at cspbears.com/watch.
