#2 concordia university (18-1, 9-1 nsic) lost for the first time in 2007-08, ending their school record winning streak at 18 games in a 73-62 loss to msu moorhead (12-7, 6-4 nsic) on saturday evening at alex nemzek hall in moorhead, minn.

concordia shot a season-low 30.6% (19-62) from the field and hit just 26.9% (7-26) from three-point range, including a paltry 2-12 from long distance in the second half.

the golden bears put themselves in an early hole, falling behind 9-0 in the first 3:25 of play until senior center amanda behnke (eagan, minn.) put in a lay-up.

behnke led the golden bears with 22 points and 10 rebounds. She was just 5-13 from the floor but converted 12-15 at the stripe.

concordia would trail 14-2 in the first four minutes of play and would never lead in the game.

although the golden bears started with a 12 point deficit after just four minutes of action, they were able to whittle away at the dragon lead, going on a 15-4 spurt over the next four-plus minutes to cut the gap to just one, 18-17 with 11:19 to play in the opening half.

after msu moorhead countered with the next three points, concordia pulled the deficit back to one when junior forward abby nielsen (maplewood, minn.) connected on a three-pointer.

it was the last time the golden bears would be within a point of the dragons, who went in the locker room ahead by eight, 39-31.

in the second half, concordia couldn't keep up with the dragons out of the gate as they extended their lead to 15 points within minutes, going ahead 48-33 with 16:39 remaining in the game - capping off a 13-3 spurt that carried over from the end of the first half.

the lead was pushed to the highest of the game - 17 points - when dragon jenny thiesen drilled a three-pointer to put msum ahead 53-36 at the 14:46 mark.

just as they started the first half slow, the golden bears had trouble getting started out of the gate in the second half as well, managing just five points in the first five-plus minutes of play in the second frame.

the 17 point deficit started a fire under the previously undefeated golden bear squad as they sought to protect their record by blazing a 12-0 run behind six points by behnke, a three-pointer by sophomore guard jamie jones (mounds view, minn.) and three free throws by sophomore guard kali olstad (elgin, minn.) after being fouled on a three-point attempt.

the run narrowed the margin to five points, 53-48 with 10:53 to go.

msum responded with the next four points but a jumper by jones and two more free throws by behnke would close the lead back to five, 57-52, with 7:50 remaining.

but the clutch free throw shooting by the dragons would prove to bury concordia as they were unable to pull the game any closer.

msu moorhead made 10-11 from the stripe the rest of the way and buried a pair of three-pointers as well to hold off the comeback attempt.

in all, the dragons converted 85.7% (24-28) from the free throw line and only committed 13 turnovers while pulling in 48 rebounds.

concordia, meanwhile, was solid from the stripe, but in fewer attempts, hitting 73.9% (17-23) but committed 19 turnovers and had 40 rebounds.

msu moorhead also struggled from the field (33.9% - 21-62) and three-point range (28.0% - 7-25); faring not much better than concordia.

but, without the mistakes and forcing more concordia errors, the dragons were successful in defending their homecourt in exacting revenge on concordia after an 89-65 decision in st. Paul on dec. 2 earlier in the season.

jones was the only other golden bear to reach double-figures, scoring 13 points on 5-10 shooting, hitting 2-4 from behind the arc. She also had seven rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.

senior point guard katie laviolette (manitowoc, wis.) added eight points, eight rebounds and four assists while nielsen and k.olstad each had six off the bench.

behnke, jones, laviolette and nielsen shot a respectable 50.0% (16-32) from the field and scored 49 points.

aside from behnke, jones, laviolette and nielsen, concordia managed to combine to shoot 3-27 - just 11.1% - from the field; all three shots being three-pointers in 18 attempts from behind the arc.

concordia's other eight players scored just 13 points.

the dragons were led by allison swenson, who scored 22 points, shooting 6-8 from the floor, 4-5 from three-point range and 6-6 from the stripe.

no other dragon scored in double-figures but all nine players scored at least four points.

the loss for the golden bears comes in the midst of a tough stretch in their schedule where they play 12 of 14 games on the road. They have already won nine of those 12 road games with just two more to play next weekend when they face minnesota, crookston and bemidji state next friday and saturday.

box score - msu moorhead 73, cu 62