Fifth-ranked concordia university (22-1, 13-1 nsic) clinched at least a share of the northern sun regular season championship with a decisive 79-50 win at home over northern state university (9-15, 5-10 nsic) in front of 1,012 fans on think pink night at the gangelhoff center. Concordia converted 14 three-pointers, shooting 53.8% from behind the arc to compensate for making just 11-37 from inside the arc.

the win at home is also concordia's 22nd consecutive win at home while the golden bears successfully defend their league title from the 2006-07 season. It's the third nsic regular season championship in school history and the first time the team has successfully defended a league championship.

senior guard kelly lund (new brighton, minn.) led concordia for the second straight night with 19 points, hitting five three-pointers in just 24 minutes. Senior center amanda behnke (eagan, minn.) had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while senior point guard katie laviolette (manitowoc, wis.) had nine points, 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals.

the golden bears struggled from the field in the first half, shooting just 33.3% (11-33) from the floor. However they were hot from behind the arc, sinking seven three-pointers at a 46.7% clip in 15 attempts. Concordia was just 4-18 from inside the arc in the opening frame.

junior forward candace olstad (elgin, minn.) and lund sparked the golden bears offensively in the first half, scoring 19 of their 31 points including 5-8 three-point shooting. C.olstad had 10 points, hitting 2-3 from long range while lund had nine, knocking down 3-5 from three-point territory. C.olstad finished the game with 13 points.

while the three-point shooting kept concordia's offense ticking, it was their defensive effort that allowed them to head into the locker room with a 14 point lead, holding nsu to 7-24 shooting including 2-10 from three-point range. The wolves were able to muster just nine points in the 18:55 of the game and went 6:45 without a field goal when they finally went into double-figures with 1:05 to play in the half.

during that stretch, the golden bears went on a 13-0 run to take control of the game.

in the second half, northern state never cut the deficit lower than the 17 point margin that held at the break.

concordia extended their lead as high as 31 points late in the game, a 79-48 lead with :55 to play before the wolves hit a jumper nine seconds later to provide the final score.

the golden bear bench scored 28 points and was led by sophomore guards kali olstad (elgin, minn.) and jamie jones (mounds view, minn.). K.olstad had 10 points, hitting 3-4 from three-point distance while jones had nine points, hitting two more three-pointers.

not only did concordia beat the wolves from outside the arc, but they also out-rebounded nsu 43-37 including 15-10 on the offensive glass.

concordia also executed at the stripe, hitting 75.0% (15-20) while northern state struggled with 37.5% (6-16) shooting.

taking care of the ball also played into the near-30 point victory as concordia committed just 10 turnovers while forcing 19 by the wolves, leading to a 20-7 deficit in points off turnovers and 8-0 on the fast break.

the golden bears will look to secure the northern sun crown outright next friday night when they head back on the road to take on winona state on feb. 15 before heading even further south to face upper iowa on saturday, feb. 16. A cu win or a wayne state loss clinches the title outright.

box score - cu 79, northern state 50