ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia Golden Bears women's basketball team (2-1) picked up a dramatic 93-91 win in overtime in their home opener in the Radisson Hotel Minneapolis St. Paul North Classic over Jamestown on Friday night. Lauren Shifflett scored a career-high 34 points off the bench in the win.
 
Shifflett's 34 points set a new tip-off tournament record and ranked sixth-most in program history all-time as she put up the 31^st 30-point effort in the school's history. Her 10 field goals made tied the tied for the most in tip-off tournament history as it also represented a career high. She hit 10-19 from the floor, 5-9 from three and 9-10 from the free throw line for the game.


CU Women's BB vs. Jamestown 11.20.2015 - Images by Justin Oakman
 
Concordia erased an early double digit deficit to claim a double digit lead of their own in the second half before the Jimmies stormed back late to tie it and force overtime. Shifflett took over in overtime with 11 points and the Golden Bears picked up two late stops to close out the win.
 
Both teams were efficient from the floor as Jamestown connected on 45.0% (27-60) from the floor compared to 42.1% (32-76) for the Golden Bears. UJ hit 44.4% (8-18) from beyond the arc while CSP was 28.6% (6-21) from three. Each team got to the free throw line frequently as each surpassed the previous tip-off tournament high in attempts as Jamestown had 40 attempts and Concordia had 39.
 
Anna Schmitt and Kionda Nicks finished in double digits from the starting lineup as Schmitt put up 12 and Nicks put up 10 while Caitlyn Russell joined Shifflett in double digits with 10 points off the bench. Nicks filled the box score with a game-high seven assists along with three boards, two steals and a block while Russell chipped in seven boards and a pair of blocks.
 
Nicole Parson nearly double-doubled with nine points and nine rebounds while Mishayla Jones put up a diverse line with eight points, seven boards, five assists, two blocks and two steals.
 
Jessica Buck contributed a big double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Jimmies and Bryn Woodside added 18 points and four assists.
 
Things got off to a slow start for CSP gave up 14 straight points after an early 2-2 tie to fall behind 16-2 midway through the opening quarter. During that span, Concordia missed five shots in a row coupled with a turnover and three missed free throws as nothing seemed to be going their way. The Golden Bears rebounded a bit from there as they cut the deficit back down to eight at 20-12 and again at 22-14 at the end of the first.
 
Concordia completely flipped the script in the second quarter as they came out firing and quickly erased that deficit. The Golden Bears rattled off a 13-1 run in the first three and a half minutes of the period as they hit five of six from the floor during that span to take a 27-23 lead. The Jimmies responded with five of the next six points to even the score, but CSP regained the lead and eventually saw it reach as large as six at 38-32 with just over two minutes to go in the half. Jamestown knocked down four free throws to cut it back to two before Nicks closed out the half with a bucket to make it 40-36 heading into the break.
 
After a bucket for the Jimmies cut the Concordia lead to two just after the half, the Golden Bears answered with a 7-0 run to push their lead to nine for the first time all day. Jamestown responded with 12 of the next 15 points to pull back within three, but once again it was a big CSP run that shifted the momentum as Concordia poured in the next 10 in a row to grow their lead to its largest of the night at 60-47 with a minute left in the quarter. The lead remained in double digits for the rest of the quarter as the Golden Bears went into the fourth with a 62-52 lead.
 
Jamestown shaved the deficit to six at 65-59 early in the fourth, but six straight for Concordia had it back to a 12 point lead. That lead remained in double digits until the three minute mark at 73-63 before the Jimmies slowly chipped away. They had it down to six with a minute and a half to play before layups from Taylor Hammer and Jessica Buck closed the gap to two with just under a minute left. After an empty possession for CSP, Kaeli Kraska drew a foul with 6.6 seconds left on the clock and hit two free throws to tie it up. Concordia was unable to convert on the final possession as regulation ended with the score tied at 77.
 
The two teams traded buckets in the overtime session as neither team led by more than one possession as the period featured five ties and six lead changes. Shifflett saved her best for last as she poured in 11 of Concordia's 16 points in the extra session, including a huge three to put CSP up 90-88 with 58 seconds left on the clock. After the two teams went 1-2 from the line for three possessions in a row, the Golden Bears maintained a 92-89 lead with 30 seconds to play. Woodside picked up a huge basket and drew a foul with 20 seconds left but missed the free throw as Concordia remained up one. Courtney Lyons hit 1-2 from the line with 16 seconds left to push the lead to two and the Golden Bears picked up two stops in a row, including one capped by a big block from Russell with under a second to play sealed the win.
 
Concordia will look to extend their winning streak to three tomorrow night as they take on #8 Michigan Tech at 6:30 p.m.