ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (3-1) surged in the second half to grab a huge win over #8 Michigan Tech (2-1) on Saturday night at the Gangelhoff Center and complete the weekend sweep in the Radisson Hotel Minneapolis St. Paul North Classic.
The Golden Bears exploded for 55 points after the half to erase a double digit deficit and pick up the upset win over the #8 team in the country. CSP hit an incredible 61.5% (16-26) from the floor, 75.0% (3-4) from three and 87.0% (20-23) from the free throw line in the second half as everything seemed to be falling. They also turned up the defense after the break as Michigan Tech hit 50.0% (15-30) in the first half and just 34.3% (12-35) in the second half.
CU Women's BB vs. MTU 11.21.2015 - Images by
Justin Oakman
Concordia also did a nice job down low as they out-rebounded the Huskies 39-29 (9-8 on the offensive glass) and also out-blocked them 6-4 and out-scored them in the paint 34-22. CSP also held a 13-5 advantage on second chance points and 11-4 advantage on fast break points.
In a strong effort from the entire team,
Anna Schmitt,
Lauren Shifflett Mishayla Jones and
Kionda Nicks shined especially bright. Schmitt shattered her career-high with 22 points and six assists to go along with six boards and a pair of steals as she filled the box score. She hit 7-12 from the floor and 8-10 from the free throw line.
Shifflett was explosive off the bench for the second night in a row with 18 points on 5-8 shooting and 7-9 from the charity stripe. Her 52 points in two games surpassed Kayla Christensen's tournament record of 49 set back in 2002.
Jones was once again active as she collected 17 points, five boards, three assists and four steals in a another full line. Nicks nearly missed a double-double as she scored in double figures for the second straight game with 13 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
Shifflett was named the Radisson Hotel Minneapolis St. Paul North Classic MVP while Schmitt was named to the All-Tournament Team. They were joined by Michigan Tech's Danielle Blake along with Minnesota Crookston's Alexia Thielman and Jamestown's Jessica Buck on the All-Tournament Team.
The trio of Kylie Moxley, Danielle Blake and Kerry Gardner carried the scoring load for Michigan Tech as all three finished with 15 points or more. Moxley led the way with 19 points along with seven boards and four assists while Blake chipped in 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Gardner had 15 points as she hit 5-10 from beyond the arc.
The Golden Bears got off to a fast start with a 5-0 run in the opening two minutes get out to a quick lead. CSP remained out front by five at 10-5 and still led by a pair at 14-12 with 2:24 left in the first quarter before Michigan Tech turned it on. The Huskies turned that deficit into a 22-16 lead as they closed out the quarter on a 10-2 run, including a pair of threes from Gardner before the buzzer.
Concordia shrunk the lead down to two as they took the first four points of the second period before MTU rattled off eight in a row, with two more threes, to jump ahead 30-20. CSP battled back once again to pull within four at the 3:50 mark of the quarter at 33-29 but hit just one of their final five shots in the period to see the gap grow to the largest of the half at 42-31 heading into the break.
The lead reached 13 in the opening moments of the third, but Concordia didn't go away. Still down 11 at 49-38 just over two minutes into the period, the Golden Bears embarked on an extended 17-2 run spanning four and a half minutes to take their first lead since the first quarter. The Huskies responded, however, and claimed 10 of the final 14 points of the quarter, including a three right before the buzzer to take a 61-59 lead into the final quarter.
The Golden Bears wasted little time taking control in the fourth as they claimed the first five points to take the lead for good. Michigan Tech remained within one at 66-65 with 7:50 to play before a crucial 8-0 run, capped by threes from Jones and Shifflett put the Huskies in a deep hole. They were unable to bring it back to a one possession game as an aggressive Concordia squad made it tough for them on both ends of the floor. MTU pulled as close as four at 79-75 with 56 seconds left, but CSP took care of business down the stretch to complete the upset with a final of 85-77.
