ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia University women's basketball team (6-5, 2-3 NSIC) saw a first half lead disappear in a 64-60 loss to Minnesota State (7-3, 4-1 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at the Gangelhoff Center.
 
The Golden Bears shot just 28.6% from the floor after the break while the Mavericks connected on 41.4% during that span. The two teams finished with comparable percentages as MSU hit 37.7% (23-61) for the game while CU shot 35.3% (24-68).
 
Rebounding also aided Minnesota State's effort as they held a 47-38 advantage on the glass on the day.
 
Concordia's pressure defense forced 20 MSU turnovers for the game while they committed just 12 of their own, resulting in a 19-7 differential in points off turnovers. Concordia also controlled the game in the paint as they outscored the Mavericks 30-26 down low.
 
Senior Ameshia Kearney was explosive during stretches as she scored a team-high 18 points despite hitting just 7-20 from the floor. She also added four steals and three assists in the loss.
 
Mishayla Jones put up another strong line with 14 points on 7-13 shooting while chipping in five assists, three rebound and three steals.
 
Caitlyn Russell stayed hot in her second consecutive start as she picked up her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards in 21 minutes.
 
Aubrey Davis led the way for the Mavericks with a game-high 19 points on an efficient 5-9 from the floor and 8-10 from the line to go along with seven assists and four rebounds.
 
Jamie Bresnahan and Lexie Ulfers joined her in double figures with 13 points each as Ulfers added eight boards and Bresnahan added seven.
 
Minnesota State got off to a fast start as they quickly built a 9-2 lead in the first 2:14 of the game. Concordia responded with a momentum-shifting 20-4 run spanning nearly ten minutes as the Mavericks missed ten straight shots from the floor.
 
The Mavericks chipped away for much of the rest of the half as they pulled back to within three at 29-26 with 2:38 to go in the half before Concordia settled with a five point advantage at 33-28 heading into the half.
 
The second half began with another strong run for the Mavericks as they scored eight of the first 10 points to take a 36-35 lead. The lead changed hands four times with four ties over the next several minutes as Concordia held a 46-44 lead at the midway point of the half.
 
From that point on the Mavericks used a 10-0 run to build a 54-46 lead with 7:18 to play and they would not trail again the rest of the way. The Golden Bears showed some resilience as Jones hit a couple buckets in a row to cut the lead down to three at 58-55 with 2:15 remaining. Ashley Olson and Ameshia Kearney traded threes with under a minute to play but Aubrey Davis hit 3-4 from the line down the stretch to ice the 64-60 win.
 
Concordia returns to the court after the New Year as they host Minnesota Duluth at 6 p.m. on January 2^nd and St. Cloud State at 4 p.m. on January 3^rd.