st. Paul, minn. - #23 concordia university ripped off a 26-5 second half run to roll over the beavers of bemidji state 85-62 in nsic play at the gangelhoff center on friday night. The strength of the team this season has been a balanced offensive attack and tonight was no different with five players finishing with 12-17 points. The squad hit 48.5% of their shots and took 30 points off of turnovers to send bemidji state (9-5, 3-4 nsic) packing and go up 12-1 on the year and 6-0 in the league. They host minnesota duluth tomorrow evening at 6:00 pm. box score
the golden bears were playing a close game with the beavers through nearly 30 minutes of play, going well into the second half with just a single digit lead. It was three consecutive hits from beyond the arc that got concordia rolling on their way to the big win, starting off a 26-5 run with a 9-0 jump. The second hit from long range came from senior kali olstad (g, sr., elgin, minn.) and moved her into second place on cu's all-time list for made threes with a current career tally of 187.
chanica hall (g, sr., minneapolis, minn.) played a large role in cu's second half output, leading the way with 13 points, including nine in the separation run. zoraa quoie (g, jr., woodbury, minn.) dashed and dished, taking three steals and putting up six assists in the game and also layed in a number of momentous fast break layups.
the beavers let go of their chances when a lid was put on their side of the hoop. Bsu shot just 2-of-11 from the field and turned the ball over six times in concordia's run, which put the golden bears up 81-56 with four minutes left to play. The golden bears took 13 total steals and forced bsu into 23 turnovers in the game, turning the beaver miscues into 30 points. The golden bears also dominated the game in the paint, driving their way in close or dishing to open players for 40 of their 85 points.
jineen williams (g, jr., racine, wis.) finished as concordia's leading scorer with 17 points. Her play in the first half was crucial to cu taking a lead into the locker room. Williams shot 5-of-7 from the field and hit five free throws for 15 first half points. She broke a tied 35-35 game in the final minute of the first half after blowing past her defender and reaching the rim. Williams put in the last five points of the half and brought cu to a 40-37 halftime lead.
as the team has seen all season, the golden bears used a balanced attack to take friday's win. Williams' 17 points was a team high, adding five rebounds and four assists to her line. gillian bjerke (c, sr., detroit lakes, minn.) put up a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards, also blocking three shots and gaining a set of steals. Olstad had 16 points, seven boards and two steals. Hall completed her game with 13 points and four assists, while maurika hickman (g, jr., minneapolis, minn.) had 12 points and three assists.
the golden bears, who came into the game ranked 11th in the nation with a season 47.9% field goal average, finished the night with a 48.5% performance. They had 13 steals, eight blocks and 19 assists.
the beavers of bemidji state saw an impressive performance from guard shannon thompson in her 19 point, four assist game, but they needed more than a solo breakout game to get close to concordia's scoring ability. The only other beaver to finish in double figures for scoring was katie pettit with 10 points. Emily kaus came off of the bench for a team high 10 rebounds. The beavers out-rebounded cu 43-42 but shot just 31.7% from the field.
