Concordia-St. Paul's (25-8) season came to an end Monday evening, as St. Cloud State (23-9) upset the Bears 81-70 in the North Central Regional Tournament championship game at the Betty Engelstadt Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D. Junior guard Nakia Carlisle carried the Bears with 28 points, but it wasn't enough to offset the inside dominance of Erika Quigley, who finished the game with 27 points and 17 rebounds. Quigley was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

The Huskies struck first, taking a 2-0 lead off the opening tip, but the Bears responded with a pair of threes by Carlisle and senior guard Lindsey Williams (Maplewood, Minn.). The Bears didn't look back, as they held the lead for the much of the half, only allowing the Huskies to tie the score once at 24 with 4:49 remaining.

The Bears responded with an 8-0 run to give them a 32-24 lead with 2:00 to play in the half, but the run was snapped by SCSU's Shannon Francis, who drilled a three to put the Huskies right back into the game.

But Concordia ended the half with a couple of quick baskets to take a 38-29 halftime lead. Carlisle had 13 points, and junior guard Ashley Smith (Cottage Grove, Minn.) had 10 points, including a couple clutch threes, to lead the way in the first half for Concordia.

The second half proved much of the same, as Concordia controlled a consistent lead, pushing it to as much as 11 points until April Carlson drained a three to cap a 9-0 Husky run, cutting the Concordia lead to one at 54-53 with 9:19 to play.

Senior guard Jennifer Pozzani (Beloit, Wis.) snapped the run with a clutch 17-foot jumper over the outstretched arms of Quigley, giving the Bears a three-point advantage.

Then Katie Huschle took over, hitting a jumper in the lane to give SCSU the lead back at 57-56. The lead was their first since it was 2-0. But Smith, as she did multiple times in the first half and on Saturday night against North Dakota, responded with a three to put the Bears back on top 59-57.

But Huschle answered, hitting two more jumpers in the paint, setting up the biggest shot of the game, a three-pointer by Francis to give the Huskies a six-point lead, their largest lead at that point. Carlisle responded with a three of her own to cut the lead in half on the ensuing possession.

But the Golden Bears couldn't execute down the stretch, as Francis hit a pair of free throws to break a 71-68 score after neither team could put up any points for nearly two minutes.

Down by five with just over a minute remaining, the Bears managed just two points until the final buzzer, while the Huskies executed from the free-throw line to seal an 81-70 victory.

The Bears, playing in their first-ever regional final, were unable to defeat the Huskies, who improve to 5-0 in school history in regional finals. Concordia also could not claim the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's first-ever regional final victory, as the North Central Conference is a perfect 13 for 13 in the North Central Regional final.

The Huskies outscored the Bears by 22 points in the last 11 minutes of play as Concordia was unable to execute.

Carlisle and Pozzani were each named to the All-Tournament Team, while Quigley and Francis represented the Huskies. Kristi Boese of North Dakota was the fifth member of the team.

Two other Bears scored in double-figures. Smith poured in 15 points off the bench, and Pozzani had 10 points despite struggling with an aggressive second-half Husky defense. Senior forward Carly Christensen (Elk River, Minn.) added eight points and seven rebounds.

The Bears, who held SCSU to 29.7 percent (11-37) shooting in the first half, did not have an answer in the second half, as the Huskies shot 65.4 percent (17-26). It was the opposite for Concordia, who shot 50.0 percent in the first half (15-30) while managing just 35.3 percent (12-34) in the second.

The Huskies dominated the glass with a 48-31 rebounding advantage.

With their win, the Huskies advance to the NCAA Elite Eight in Hot Springs, Ark., where they will take on the winner of the Northeast Regional on March 26, while the Bears end their season with a 25-8 overall record.

Concordia's six seniors (Heidi Gill, Desirae Jones, Lindsey Williams, Jennifer Pozzani, and Kayla and Carly Christensen) close out their careers with a 96-27 record - the all-time winningest class in Concordia's history.