The Concordia women's basketball team suffered an 86-70 defeat to #6 St. Cloud State Wednesday night at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud. Senior Ashley Smith scored a season-high 22 points in the loss.

The huskies opened the game with nine straight points before Nakia Carlisle put the Bears on the board with a layup at 14:58. St. Cloud State then opened up a double-digit lead, leading by as many as 16 in the first half. They led 44-30 at the break.

Smith would score 19 of her 22 points in the second half to help the Bears make a run and cut the lead to 57-53 with 12:02 remaining in the game, but that would be as close as Concordia would get.

Carlisle scored 15 and had five assists in the loss, while Janine Kuklis had a career-best 10 rebounds to lead the Bears. She also had eight points and a block.

For the game, the Bears shot 24-64 (.375) from the field, but the Huskies went 27-62 (.435) from the field and made 27-44 free throws, compared to the 16-24 that the Bears shot.

St. Cloud State was led by their All-American, Erica Quigley, who had 26 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks.

With the loss, the Bears fall to 3-4 on the season, while St. Cloud State improves to 10-0. Concordia will return home on Saturday, Dec. 17th, when they host Mount Mary in non-conference action at 3:00 in the Gangelhoff Center.