#6 concordia university (27-2) scored the first 12 points of the game in the opening two and a half minutes of play as they coasted to a 71-58 victory over msu moorhead (18-11) in the nsic tournament semifinals on friday evening at the gangelhoff center.

msu moorhead's jessica fesenmaier finally put the dragons on the board by converting one of two free throws with 16:26 to play in the first half.

concordia then extended the lead to 18-1 and didn't allow msu moorhead to convert a field goal for the first 8:29 of the game until allison swenson finally drained a jumper.

the golden bears were led by senior point guard katie laviolette (manitowoc, wis.), who had a solid all-around performance, leading cu with 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds - all team highs.

msu moorhead cut the deficit to five, 20-15 at the 8:38 mark but a 12-0 run by concordia over nearly four minutes put the lead back to 17, 32-15.

the margin was extended to 19 by half, 39-20 with laviolette's 13 points leading the way at the break. In the first half, concordia shot 50.0% (17-34) from the floor while holding the dragons to just 34.9% (8-30) shooting.

the golden bears would lead by as much as 24 in the second half, a 46-22 lead with 17:11 to play.

the lead held in the upper-teens and low-20's for much of the rest of the game until the dragons closed out the contest by scoring 13 of the final 17 points in the last two minutes when the game was already in-hand for the golden bears.

amanda behnke pictured on defense where she had four steals and three blocks for the golden bears

four golden bears scored in double-figures to supplement laviolette's team-high 15 points. Fellow nsic co-player of the year amanda behnke added 13 points. The senior center from eagan, minn. Also collected five rebounds, had four steals and three blocks.

in her first start of the season, sophomore guard jamie jones (mounds view, minn.) had 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block while seeing 31 minutes of action.

junior forward candace olstad (elgin, minn.) scored 10 points and had five rebounds in just 23 minutes. Senior guard kelly lund (new brighton, minn.) rounded out the starting five with nine points and six rebounds, while shooting 4-7 from the floor.

concordia's bench, which was outscored 32-12, was led by senior center whitney smetana (merrifield, minn.) led the bench effort with six points and six rebounds.

for the game, concordia held msu moorhead to 34.9% (22-63) shooting. Offensively they shot 42.0% (22-69) and hit 76.9% (10-13) from the stripe.

taking care of the ball was a priority for the golden bears, who committed just 11 turnovers while forcing 20, leading to a 23-7 deficit in points off turnovers and 14-5 off the fast break.

with the win, concordia equals their best record through 29 games, tying the 2003-04 team that was 27-2, hosted the ncaa regional before finishing 28-4. They also defeated msu moorhead in the nsic tournament for the fourth time in as many games, twice in the semifinals and twice in the championship.

the golden bears advance to the nsic tournament championship game for the second straight year and will face wayne state (21-8) at 7 p.m. At the gangelhoff center. Concordia is looking to defend their nsic tournament championship from last year and is seeking to capture their third tournament crown in school history.

head coach paul fessler's postgame interview

photos courtesy justin oakman

box score - cu 71, msu moorhead 58