ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Concordia Golden Bears women's basketball team (2-0) defeated Pittsburg State (1-1) 68-62 in the CCA Tip-Off Classic on Saturday night. Concordia built a large lead late in the first half and didn't trail again as CU improved to 2-0 on the young season. Ameshia Kearney and Amanda Barton led the way with 14 points and Kionda Nicks chipped in 11 for the Golden Bears.

Play went back and forth in the early going with seven ties and two lead changes in the first nine minutes of the game. The Gorillas held a lead at 13-11 following an Alex Muff layup at the 15:14 mark in the first half but they wouldn't lead again. CU would take the lead for good as Barton scored seven straight points to turn a tie at 17 to a 24-17 advantage with 9:37 left in the half. Concordia would push the lead to 15 during a four minute stretch in which they scored eight straight to make it 36-21. Pittsburg State would get the lead back down to 41-28 going into the break.

Concordia turn 11 Gorilla turnovers into 14 points in the half compared to just two points off turnovers for PSU. CU was also opportune on second opportunities, outscoring Pittsburg State 9-2 in second chance points. Barton caught fire in the first half by hitting 6-8 from the field and 2-3 from three as she scored all 14 of her points in the first half. The Golden Bears as a team shot an efficient 51.4% from the field.

Pittsburg State began to chip away at the lead in the second half, cutting it down to eight at 45-37 with 15:08 left in the game. Kylie Gifford hit a pair of free throws to cap a 22-12 run over the first 13 minutes of the half to trim the CU advantage to 53-50. Two free throws from Anika Whiting and a three from Ameshia Kearney pushed the lead back out to eight just 30 seconds later, but the Gorillas wouldn't go away. Pittsburg State got it back to a one possession game with just under a minute remaining at 65-62 but three free throws from Carissa Wolyniec down the stretch iced the game and gave the Golden Bears a 68-62 victory.

Despite shooting only 29.6% from the floor in the second half, the Golden Bears were able to lock down defensively and hold the Gorillas to 31.0% shooting in the half and 30.9% for the game. Pittsburg State was also able to win the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Golden Bears 46-33 for the game but it wasn't enough.

Lizzy Jeronimus made a huge impact for the Gorillas with a game-high 22 points and eight boards, going 12-13 from the free throw line. Alexa Bordewick and Alex Muff joined her in double-digits in scoring with 12 and 10, respectively.

All-American Anika Whiting had a quiet night with eight points on 2-10 shooting and one rebound. Barton picked up the slack off the bench by shooting 60% from the field and 50% from three en route to her 14 points. Kearney also had an solid day shooting, hitting 5-9 shots and 4-6 from beyond the arc. Nicks also hit 5-7 from the field.

Tomorrow afternoon the Golden Bears face a tough test as they take on the #5 Emporia State Lady Hornets at 1:15 p.m.CT.