The #6 ranked Concordia University Golden Bears (22-2, 12-1 NSIC) clinched their first-ever NSIC women's basketball championship with an 86-60 win over Winona State (15-10, 7-7 NSIC) at the Gangelhoff Center Saturday night. The Bears were led by Jennifer Pozzani, who scored a season-high 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field. Pozzani also added a team-high 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

Two other Bears scored in double figures. Carly Christensen went for 17 points, and Kayla Christensen added 12. Desirae Jones and Vanessa Hutchins each had 4 assists for Concordia.

The first half was a half of runs. Winona State made the first basket of the game, and then the Bears then ran off 7 straight points to take a 7-2 lead. WSU answered back with a 9-0 run of their own. That was stopped by a 9-0 run by Concordia, giving the bears the lead for good.

The bears' defense came to play, allowing only 7 points in an 11-minute span late in the half. Concordia held the Warriors to only 29% shooting in the first half. A 3-pointer by Carly Christensen at the 5:21 mark capped a 20-5 CU run and helped the Bears bring a 37-24 lead into the half.

The beginning of the 2nd half was all about offense, as the teams combined for 17 points in the first two and a half minutes. The Bears used that offensive output to widen their lead to 16 at 47-31. Pozzani led the charge, scoring 20 of her game-high 26 points in the second half.

The Bears' offense stepped it up throughout the entire half, scoring 49 points. A Carrie Schierschimdt free throw at the 1:30 mark gave the Bears their largest lead of the night of 29 with the score 86-57.