ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia University women's basketball (10-8, 6-6 NSIC) outlasted Sioux Falls (13-4, 9-4 NSIC) to grab a 76-72 win for their second consecutive victory. Lauren Shifflett and Amanda Barton combined for 37 points on 13-20 from the floor and 6-12 from three off the bench for the Golden Bears.
 
One game after setting a new career high with 19 points, Shifflett surpassed the mark with 21 points on an efficient 6-11 shooting and 4-8 from beyond the arc as she also went 5-6 from the free throw line. She also added a pair of rebounds and assists.
 
Amanda Barton added 16 points on an even more efficient 7-9 from the field as she went 2-4 from three in 23 minutes off the bench.
 
Anika Whiting was the only Golden Bear starter to score in double figures as she finished with 17 points, eight boards, four assists, three blocks and two steals in a full line.
 
As a team, Concordia posted a solid 43.5% (27-62) percentage from the floor for the game, including an excellent 53.3% (16-30) before the half.  The Cougars were even more successful as they shot over 45% in each half to finish at 45.8% (27-59) for the game.
 
Concordia's defense forced 21 turnovers in the game which resulted in 24 points while USF turned 15 turnovers into 21 points.
 
Bench scoring proved to be a major difference maker as the Golden Bears got 37 points from two players while Sioux Falls' six bench players combined for just 13 points.
 
Jaicee Ulmer paced the Cougars with 22 points on 7-14 shooting and 5-9 from three as she added five rebounds. Marie Malloy was the only other USF player in double figures with 19 points on 7-12 from the floor as she chipped in six boards.
 
Concordia delivered the first blow as they built a 13-6 lead in the first 5:35 as Whiting put in nine points in the early going. The Cougars scored the next seven in a row to tie it up at 13, but the Golden Bears answered back with a 15-0 run to take a 28-13 lead with 7:10 to go in the half.
 
Concordia's lead reached 16 on two occasions but Sioux Falls chipped away to make it 37-30 with two minutes to go in the half. Shifflett and Barton teamed up to score the final seven points of the half to push the lead back to 14 at 44-30 heading into the break.
 
Kayla Miller opened the scoring in the second half with a three to give the Golden Bears their largest lead of the game at 17 but it was short-lived as the next ten points went in favor of the Cougars. The lead continued to shrink over the next several minutes as Sioux Falls cut it to two at 58-56 with 10:28 remaining.
 
Neither team was able to get much going offensively for a stretch after that as scoring became harder to come by. Concordia eventually extended their lead back to seven at 68-61 with 5:36 left, but once again the Cougars fought back to erase it. Taylor Varsho capped an 11-3 run to give USF a 72-71 lead with 2:06 to play, their first lead since the 6-4 mark early in the first half.
 
The Golden Bear defense clamped down from that point on as they held Sioux Falls scoreless the rest of the way, limiting them to 0-4 from the floor and two turnovers. Whiting hit a pair of free throws to give CU the lead back at 1:12 and added two more as insurance with 30 seconds to play while Ameshia Kearney buried a free throw of her own to make it a two possession game and bring it to the final of 76-72.
 
Concordia will look to continue their winning ways tomorrow afternoon as Southwest Minnesota State comes to town. Tip-off is set of 4 p.m.