Junior forward abby nielsen (maplewood, minn.) scored eight of her 11 points in the final 5:02 to give #3 concordia university (17-0, 8-0 nsic) a much needed spark off the bench to help the golden bears overcome a seven point deficit in a 78-77 win at wayne state college (12-5, 5-3 nsic) in wayne, neb.

nielsen made the first of two free throws with 7.6 seconds remaining in the game. Wayne state's kati jo christensen grabbed the rebound and her game-winning three-point attempt with two seconds left was off the mark.

senior point guard katie laviolette (manitowoc, wis.), the nation's leader in total assists with 135 entering the weekend, led concordia with a season-high 21 points while dishing out seven assists. She was 8-13 from the field and a perfect 3-3 from three-point range and 2-2 from the line.

concordia pulled down 55 rebounds, 19 on the offensive end to out rebound wayne state by nearly 20, holding the wildcats to 36. Concordia outscored wayne state 9-1 in second chance points in the process. It was the third time this year they reached 50 rebounds.

the golden bears won in wayne for just the third time in nine trips to the small nebraska town that displays "wayne america" on the city water tower. Concordia's other two wins at wayne state came in 2003-04 and 2004-05 when the golden bears went 28-4 and 25-8, respectively.

their 17th consecutive win also breaks the school record for longest winning streak, set in the 2003-04 season when cu won 16 straight after losing their first game of the season.

neither team led by more than eight points, with concordia's largest lead of seven points being maintained through much of the early stages of the first half, the last time with a 18-11 edge with with 11:49 remaining in the opening frame.

wayne state hung close, however, scoring seven straight to knot the score at 21. They did not reclaim the lead in the first half as concordia held on to a slim 34-31 margin at the break.

concordia's scoring leader, amanda behnke (sr., c, eagan, minn.) had a rough time in the first half, shooting 1-9 from the field with just two points.

the offense was sparked by senior guards katie laviolette and kelly lund (new brighton, minn.) who had nine points each. Laviolette also had five assists while lund buried three three-pointers.

candace olstad (jr., f, elgin, minn.) also contributed eight points and seven rebounds to help cu hold the slim halftime lead. She finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

behnke got things going early in the second half, putting in a lay-up in the first minute to put cu up by five. She finished with a double-double, scoring 12 points with 12 rebounds. She was 4-7 from the floor in the second half and had six rebounds in each half

but the wildcats had the answer, scoring the next eight points to grab a 39-36 lead.

an 8-2 run by wayne state moments later put them ahead 50-43 (13:00/2nd) and they would extend their lead to their largest of the game at 56-48 (10:46/2nd) and 58-50 (10:02/2nd).

although a three-pointer by senior guard mary schroeder (minneapolis, minn.) cut the gap to three-points, 60-57 with 6:40 to play, wayne state maintained their solid lead until nielsen's instant offense sparked concordia down the stretch.

after a nielsen three-pointer brought concordia within two, 66-64 at 5:02 of the second half, laviolette plugged a three-pointer with 4:23 to put the golden bears back on top for the first time since early in the second half.

wayne state took their last lead on the next possession when laquisha cook's two free throws put them back up by a point. She finished with a game-high 29 points and hit 11-12 at the stripe.

behnke followed with a lay-up to put cu back in front and strong defense by schroeder led to one of her five blocked shots with nielsen picking up the rebound and sinking a pair of free throws. Schroeder added eight points and six rebounds to her impressive five blocks.

wayne state would tie the game back up at 71 but the golden bears would execute down the stretch to hold the win.

while schroeder's five blocked shots were a career-high and the golden bears had eight blocks in the game, wayne state was even more imposing in the lane with 13 blocks, led by freshman jodie boss' school record 10 blocks. She had a double-double with 11 rebounds, but fouled out before she was able to reach the triple-double, scoring seven points.

concordia's aggressive play forced wayne state's second leading scorer, junior kylee mcgill, to foul out in just 10 minutes of action.

concordia drained 10-23 from three-point territory while holding wsc to 5-18 long range shooting. The golden bears shot just 40.0% (28-70) from the floor but their defense held the wildcats to 38.5% (25-65) shooting.

the golden bears also struggled from the line, hitting 54.5% (12-22) while wayne state was 71.0% (22-29) in seven more attempts.

concordia continues their undefeated 2007-08 campaign on the road tomorrow night when they face southwest minnesota state in marshall, minn. At 6 p.m. The game can be viewed for free at http://www.cstv.com/ncaa/divii

box score - cu 78, wayne state 77