No. 10 Concordia-St. Paul (4-1) has opened up a four-game winning streak following their 2-0 performance in the American Family Insurance Classic held in Duluth, Minn. over thanksgiving weekend.
The Golden Bears defeated St. Cloud State 78-76 on Friday and Minnesota Duluth 85-68 on Saturday. Seniors Jennifer Pozzani and Kayla Christensen were each named to the AFIC All-Tournament Team for their performances.
In their win over the Huskies, CSP was led by Pozzani, who scored 21 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out seven assists and had five steals. She shot an excellent 10-17 from the field, had a block and did not commit a turnover. Senior Carly Christensen contributed 15 points and six rebounds.
As a team, the Bears shot 43.1 percent from the field, including a sharpshooting second-half effort in which they sunk 22-of-35 field goals for 62.9 percent to recover from a shaky 9-of-37 first half performance. The CSP defense forced 22 turnovers, while committing just 11.
The Bears stormed UMD's Romano Gym, jumping out to a 48-30 halftime lead over the bulldogs. They never looked back as they cruised to victory behind seniors Kayla Christensen and Jennifer Pozzani who scored 20 and 19 points, respectively. Junior Nakia Carlisle added 15 points while Christensen added nine points and eight rebounds. Junior Ashley Smith was the leading distributor as she dished out five assists while also nabbing seven rebounds.
CSP dominated the contest despite losing the rebounding battle, 49-32. Their success once again came from their pressure defense, which caused 27 turnovers and held the bulldogs to a mere 28.3 percent field goal percentage. The Bears shot a solid 43.8 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from beyond the arc, and committed just 12 turnovers.
For the weekend, Pozzani scored a team-high 40 points and was on fire, hitting 18-of-29 (.621) from the field. She also snared 13 boards, dished out ten assists and had eight steals. K. Christensen scored 28 points in the two games, drilled five three-pointers and snagged 11 rebounds while shooting 8-of-17 from the field.
The Bears hit the floor to defend their no. 10 ranking against Drury this Thursday, Dec. 2 in the Holiday Isles classic in Islamodora, fla. They will compete again on Saturday, Dec. 4 against an opponent to be determined.
