in a battle of undefeated teams it was senior center amanda behnke (eagan, minn.) who carried the load, scoring 27 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to lead #8 concordia university (9-0) to a 76-64 win over #21 minnesota state university (10-1) on tuesday evening at taylor center in mankato, minn.

the golden bears led from coast-to-coast despite a pair of strong runs by the mavericks, one late in the first half and another late in the second half.

the scorching hot teams entered the competition with some of the nation's most prolific offensive attacks, minnesota state averaging 94.9 points and a +27.6 margin of victory and concordia averaging 87.5 points and a +24.9 margin of victory.

concordia's defense held minnesota state to a season-low in scoring with 64 points. Their previous low was 76 in a 76-60 win over metro state on nov. 30. The mavericks were limited to 31.8% (21-66) shooting by the golden bear defense and made just 2-17 (11.8%) from three-point range.

the golden bears used eight blocked shots to keep the mavericks from reaching the net.

the mavericks also held concordia to a season-low of 76 points, one shy of their previous season-low of 77 in their last outing at minnesota duluth on saturday, dec. 15 in a 77-62 road victory.

concordia jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead and extended it to double-figures when sophomore guard kali olstad (elgin, minn.) buried a three-pointer to make it 15-5 nearly seven minutes into competition.

k.olstad would score 17 points off the bench on 7-10 shooting, including 3-5 from three-point range.

a lay-up by senior guard mary schroeder (minneapolis, minn.) pushed the lead to 12, 27-15 with 7:13 to play in the half. She scored six points and had five rebounds in 29 minutes for cu.

while behnke's offense carried the golden bears, it was schroeder's defense that was the backbone of the victory.

"mary played unbelievable defense on heather johnson. Johnson had scored 20 or more points the last six games coming into tonight and mary locked her up and played fantastic," said head coach paul fessler in his post-game interview.

johnson, who led msu in scoring, averaging 19.9 points per game entering the contest, finished a paltry 0-5 from the floor, four of those attempts from behind the arc. She scored two points and committed three fouls in 31 minutes.

with a 33-22 lead with just under three minutes to play until the break, joanne noreen scored eight consecutive points on her own to cut the deficit to three points, 33-30 in just under one minute of time.

noreen finished with 24 points on 9-16 shooting, including a perfect 5-5 at the stripe to lead msu.

after a pair of behnke free throws, jamie kenitz and liz trauger converted back-to-back buckets for the mavericks, chiseling the concordia lead to just one point, 35-34 with 1:21 remaining in the half.

but a k.olstad three-pointer sparked concordia to a 6-0 run to close out the half.

in the second half, concordia was holding msu at check with the lead lingering between six and 13 for much of the second half.

concordia's lead hit a game-high 13 points when junior forward candace olstad (elgin, minn.) drained a jumper with just over eight and a half minutes to play, giving the golden bears a 61-48 lead.

moments later, minnesota state rallied for a 10-2 run, cutting the gap back to four points, 64-60 with just under five minutes to play.

but six consecutive free throws by behnke and another k.olstad jumper along with lock-down defense provided an 8-2 run over the next 2:35 to give the golden bears a 10 point lead with just 2:20 to play as concordia held off the maverick rally for the win.

senior point guard katie laviolette (manitowoc, wis.) was the only other player for concordia to score in double-figures with 11 points. She also added five assists and three blocks.

alex andrews added a double-double for the mavericks with 12 points and 12 rebounds (seven offensive) and four steals.

concordia, off to their best start since moving to ncaa division ii, will continue their seven game stand away from home as they travel to st. Cloud state on thursday, december 20 to take on the huskies at halenbeck hall at 7 p.m.

box score - cu 76, minnesota state 64