No. 4 Concordia-St. Paul (24-7) advanced to the NCAA North Central Regional semifinals for the second consecutive season as they defeated no. 5 Metropolitan State College of Denver (24-7) 83-70 on Friday afternoon at the Betty Engelstadt Sioux Center in Grand forks, N.D. Senior guard Jennifer Pozzani (Beloit, Wis.) scored 25 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Golden Bears, who improve to 18-0 on the season when scoring at least 80 points.
The Roadrunners jumped out to an early 14-8 lead in the first six minutes of play. But the Golden Bears opened up an 18-2 run over the next nine minutes, capped off by an Ashley Smith (Jr., G, Cottage Grove, Minn.) three-pointer to take a 26-16 lead with just over five minutes to play in the half.
The Golden Bears, who are 22-0 when leading at the half, sprinted into the locker room with a 35-27 lead led by Pozzani with 12 points and seven rebounds on 6-9 shooting (.667).
Metro State chipped away at the Concordia lead in the second half, cutting the deficit to just two points, 53-51, with just under 12 minutes to play. But that was as close as the Roadrunners would come to reclaiming their lead, as Concordia countered with an 11-2 run to push the lead back into double-figures at 64-53 on a Katie Laviolette (Fr., G, Manitowoc, Wis.) jumper in the lane. The run was sparked by five unanswered points and a clutch defensive rebound by Pozzani.
Pozzani ended up shooting a blistering 70.6 percent from the field (12-17) on the game and hauled in five offensive rebounds (nine total), three assists, and a pair of steals. Junior guard Nakia Carlisle (St. Paul, Minn.) added 13 points and a career-high seven assists on 71.4 percent shooting (5-7). Smith racked up 12 rebounds and pitched in eight points in 23 minutes off the bench for the Golden Bears.
The Bears shot 73.1 percent (19-26) from the field and 81.8 percent from the foul line (9-11) in the second half to put away the Roadrunners. For the game, CSP shot 52.4 percent (33-63), while MSC shot just 40 percent (26-65) as Concordia improves to 19-0 when outshooting their opponent.
Concordia moves on to the regional semifinals and will face the winner of host no. 1 North Dakota vs. No. 8 Fort Hays State.
