ST. PAUL, Minn. - Junior guard Rachel Hansen (Eagan, Minn.) produced the fifth triple-double in NCAA Division II women's basketball on the year, scoring 13 points with 11 rebounds and 11 assists to lead Concordia-St. Paul (11-5, 9-3 NSIC) to a 66-62 road win at St. Cloud State (12-4, 8-4).

With Saturday evening's win at Halenbeck Hall, Concordia-St. Paul has now won eight of its last nine games including a 6-0 mark on the road. That 6-0 road mark during the last nine overall games includes wins at SCSU (8-4), UMD (7-5), Augustana (10-2) and Wayne State (7-5).

Wins against the strongest foes in the NSIC has vaulted the Golden Bear women to second outright in the NSIC Overall standings and in the NSIC South Division, a game behind Augustana.

Hansen entered play having missed a triple-double by just a rebound last Tuesday night against #20 Minnesota State, and last night was a triple-double threat as well with 19 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

Her three game average for the week was 14.0 points, 9.7 assists and 9.0 rebounds while playing in 118 out of 120 possible minutes and getting to the foul line 28 times (9.3/game), sinking 24 (.857, 8.0/game).

Over that same stretch, Concordia's defense has held three of top teams in the league (UMD, SCSU and Minnesota State) to 30.5% shooting from the floor and 28.6% (16-56) three-point shooting. Concordia's interior defense has produced 27 blocks (compared to three by its opponents).

That was again the story in tonight's game as the Golden Bears clamped down on the Huskies who were playing on their home floor.  SCSU shot just 27.1% (19-70) from the floor and once again attempted a large amount of shots.

Like last night, Concordia committed nearly three times as many turnovers as the opposition, committing 14 while forcing five, and the Huskies had a 20-to-8 offensive rebounding advantage that materialized into a 19-7 edge in second chance scoring.

The Golden Bears countered by shooting a much more efficient 45.6% (26-57) from the floor in 13 fewer attempts and were strong in the first half at 54.8% (17-31) in buidling a 39-27 lead at the break.

Concordia also had a 9-to-1 margin in blocked shots on the night.

The Huskies were the most effective team this season in shutting down one of the league's top scorers, sophomore Anika Whiting (Ashland, Wis.). The top scoring post threat for Concordia was held to a season-low 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting while fouling out in 19 minutes.

The rest of the team picked her up as four others scored between nine and 13 points. Concordia's three bench players averaged 8.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in 21.0 minutes between them. Sophomore Amanda Barton (Waterville, Minn.) produced her second-consecutive double-double off the bench with 12 points and 10 rebounds, adding three blocks while hitting 5-of-7 from the floor. Senior Mandy Poke (Richfield, Minn.) added nine points and 10 rebounds as well.

While freshman Kionda Nicks (St. Paul, Minn.) only attempted one shot (which she made), she added five rebounds and three blocks in the starting lineup and continues to be among the league's best at denying shots.

St. Cloud State was led by Sam Price's game-high 20 points while Jessica Benson had 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Concordia's 12-point halftime lead was its largest of the game, although St. Cloud State did come back to take the lead in the second half.

The game featured just two ties and two lead changes, but it was Concordia that came out strong to establish the early lead, 13-4 in the first four-plus minutes. The lead remained beteween five and 12 points throughout the rest of the half.

St. Cloud State opened the second half on an 11-0 run, though, to get right back into the game, 39-38 with 15:04 to play. The Huskies rallied to take their first lead nearly five minutes later but couldn't pull away by more than a 3-point margin.

Concordia responded to the SCSU 46-43 lead by scoring 10-straight points, with six by Barton and four by Hansen, to reclaim a 7-point lead with just over six and a half minutes to go.

The Golden Bears didn't relinquish the lead down the stretch, despite SCSU pulling within a possession six separate times. SCSU had two chances to tie the score, missing a game-tying three-pointer and a game-tying two-pointer at around the four minute mark and never had the ball with a chance to tie or go-ahead the rest of the way.

The Golden Bears return home for a key rematch with Augustana and Wayne State next Friday and Saturday night, respectively, at Gangelhoff Center.