ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia University women's basketball team was unable to hold on to a late lead on the first day of the Radisson Roseville Thanksgiving Classic, falling to William Penn 75-73 on Friday at the Gangelhoff Center. The Golden Bears drop to 1-2 overall, while the Statesmen move to 4-4.
William Penn jumped out to a 5-4 lead in the first 2:08 until
Rachel Hansen (Eagan, Minn.) sparked a 9-to-2 Golden Bear run over the ensuing three minutes for a 13-6 lead. The run included a pair of
Carissa Wolyniec (Minneapolis, Minn.) three-pointers. The Statesmen cut the deficit to one at 13-12 with 13 minutes remaining in the first half, but the Golden Bears got in sync with their offense making five of the next nine shots from the floor to take their largest lead of the half, 28-14. Wolyniec continued her hot hand from beyond the arc, sinking two more three-pointers.
Concordia held on to its double digit lead until the 5:21 mark. The Statesmen rallied at the end of the half and outscored the Golden Bears 16-to-6 and the two teams went into the half with a 34-30 CU lead.
Both teams combined for 27 turnovers in the first 20 minutes – 14 by CU and 13 by WPU. Wolyniec was the Bears' leading scorer in the period, making 5-of-8 shots from beyond the arc for 15 points. As a unit, Concordia shot 40.7% (11-27) from the field, while the Statesmen shot 37.9% (11-29).
William Penn gained all the momentum to begin the second half. The Statesmen went on a 13-to-4 run in the first 3:25 to lead 43-38. From that point on it was a back-and-forth battle with four scoring ties and 10 lead changes throughout the remainder of the game.
Anika Whiting (Ashland, Wis.) gave the Bears a 69-68 lead with 1:14 left on the clock, but the Statesmen answered on the next possession and held onto the lead en route to a 75-73 victory.
Wolyniec led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. Eighteen of her 20 points were from three-point range, sinking 6-of-10. Whiting scored 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field and led the team with nine rebounds.
The Bears shot 27-for-64 (42.2%), while the Statesmen shot 25-for-65 (38.5%). William Penn won the battle down low, collecting 44 rebounds to CU's 42.
The Thanksgiving Classic resumes Saturday at 2:00 p.m. as William Penn will take on Northern State, followed by Concordia hosting Nebraska-Kearney at 4:00 p.m.
