The Concordia women's basketball team held off a second-half rally by Wayne State in the semifinals of the NSIC Red Baron Classic to win 78-68 in Moorhead, Minn. With the win, the Bears advance to their second straight NSIC championship game. Nakia Carlisle led a host of Bears in double-figures with 20 points.

The Bears defense stifled the Wildcats offense in the first half, creating 16 Wayne State turnovers and converting that into 22 of Concordia's 36 first-half points. The Bears held Wayne to only 18 shots in the first half and led 36-25 at the break.

The Wayne State offense came out of the intermission on fire and took the lead at 59-58 with 7:29 remaining in the game. Concordia countered with a pair of free throws by Carlisle to recapture the lead, which they did not relinquish, despite a tough Wayne State challenge.
Jennifer Pozzani had 16 points, seven rebounds, and four steals in the game for the Bears. Heidi Gill had ten second-half points, and Desirae Jones and Carly Christensen each added ten points in the win.

For the game, Concordia shot 27-61 (.443), including 20-24 (.833) from the free-throw line. The Bears committed only eight turnovers in the game and had 12 steals in the contest.

Wayne State converted .455 (26-57) from the field and made 10-14 (.714) from the free-throw line. The Wildcats outrebounded the Bears for the game 32-31 after trailing on the boards 14-11 at halftime.

Concordia improves to 22-7 and will play MSU Moorhead, a 67-55 winner over Northern State in the second NSIC semifinal game on Sunday, March 6 at 2:00 at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, Minn. The winner of that game will earn the NSIC's automatic bid to the NCAA North Central Regional Tournament.