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ST. PAUL, Minn. - The #20 Concordia University women's basketball team (11-4, 6-2 NSIC) completed the weekend sweep with a 67-61 win over the St. Cloud State Huskies (8-4, 4-4) on Saturday afternoon at the Gangelhoff Center.



Concordia used a strong first half, shooting 57.7% from the floor in the first 20 minutes, to build a solid lead before withstanding a potential St. Cloud State comeback.  Foul trouble plagued the Golden Bears as Anika Whiting was limited to just four points in just 15 minutes of play before fouling out and Rachel Hansen also picked up four fouls but managed to stay in the game.  The 47.1% shooting for the game was the second consecutive solid shooting performance after shooting performance after shooting 51.5% from the floor last night.

With several key players in foul trouble, Cariss Wolyniec provided the spark offensively with 19 points on 7-11 shooting, including 5-8 from three, in a whopping 39 minutes.  Hansen scored 13 of her 15 points on the afternoon in the second half along with a team-high five boards in the game.  Ameshia Kearney also provided a stabilizing presence with 10 points on 4-10 from the floor to go along with four assists in 37 minutes.

Jessica Benson was a force down low for the Huskies, picking up a double-double with 19 points and 13 boards on an efficient 8-13 shooting.  She was joined by Sam Price and Lexy Petermann in double figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The Golden Bears got it going early with five points from Wolyniec to open the game and eventually pushed the lead out to seven at 11-4 on another jumper from Wolyniec with 15:03 left in the first half.  The Huskies were able to cut the lead to one but were unable to pull even or take the lead as Concordia pushed it out with a nine point lead going into halftime with a 38-29 advantage.

CU connected from beyond the arc on six of their 10 attempts, including 4-5 from Wolyniec, as she went into half with 16 points.  The Golden Bears won the battle on the glass in the first 20 minutes by grabbing 16 boards compared to 11 for SCSU.  Concordia was unselfish with the ball in the half with 11 assists on their 15 baskets.

The Huskies used a 10-2 run to open the second half to cut the lead back to one at 40-39 with 16:23 but were once again denied from taking the lead.  After CU built the lead back up to six, SCSU brought it back to one again at 50-49.  The Golden Bears used a crucial six minute stretch in which they outscored St. Cloud State 11-5 to take a 61-54 advantage with just 3:31 to go.  The Huskies got it back to a one possession game with 46 seconds to play as CU led 63-61 but four late free throws from Rachel Hansen iced a 67-61 win for Concordia.

The Golden Bears continue their stretch of games with NSIC North opponents next weekend as they hit the road to MSU Moorhead and Northern State next weekend before returning back home for a huge weekend against Wayne State and Augustana.  Concordia is currently tied with Minnesota State for second, just a game behind Wayne State, while the Vikings lurk a game behind in fourth.