SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (3-2) had their three-game winning streak snapped by #8 Drury (4-0) by a score of 93-65 on Friday night in the opener of the Drury Thanksgiving Classic.
Concordia fell short in knocking off the #8 team in the country for the second game in a row as the Golden Bears fell to 0-2 all-time against Drury.
The Golden Bears were unable to dig themselves out of an early hole as the Lady Panthers were red hot all night long, hitting 61.0% (36-59) from the floor and 50.0% (5-10) from three in the game. Concordia also shot a decent percentage from the field at 40.0% (24-60) but hit just 21.1% (4-19) from beyond the arc. Turnovers also went in favor of Drury as they forced 22 CSP turnovers while committing 14 themselves as they led from nearly start to finish.
While Concordia's starting lineup provided just 21 points in the game as a whole,
Caitlyn Russell and
Lauren Shifflett carried the scoring load off the bench.
Russell shattered her career best with a game-high 23 points in just 20 minutes on 8-13 shooting and a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe while she also chipped in five boards. Shifflett wasn't far behind with 18 points, her third straight game with at least 18 points, on 6-15 from the field and 3-9 from three.
Kionda Nicks was the only other Golden Bear to finish with more than five points as she hit 3-7 from the floor to finish with eight points and two rebounds in 20 minutes.
Kyrah Fredenburg also made a big impact in the box score as she snatched 14 rebounds for her fourth double-digit rebounding performance in five games this season. Her 14 boards were nine more than anyone else had in the game.
It was a balanced attack for the Lady Panthers as five different players scored in double figures, led by Hannah Dressler's 14 points in just 16 minutes of action.
After
Anna Schmitt put Concordia on top 2-0 with the opening bucket of the game, the Lady Panthers embarked on a 15-0 run over the span of four minutes to take control early on. The Golden Bears managed to close the gap back to single digits at 17-8 with three minutes left in the first quarter before Drury closed out the opening period on an 8-4 run to extend the lead back to 13 at 25-12 through 10 minutes. CSP hit just 25.0% (4-16) from the floor and missed all three attempts from beyond the arc as Drury hit 50.0% (9-18) from the floor and 50.0% (2-4) from three in the first.
The Lady Panthers were even more efficient in the second quarter as they connected on 64.3% (9-14) of their shots and hit 2-4 from deep while CSP hit 50.0% (6-12) from the field and 1-3 from three in the period. Drury opened the quarter on a 12-5 run in first 4:39 to see their lead reach 20 before the midway point of the second. The Golden Bears responded with six of the next nine points to make it 40-23 with 4:27 to go in the half, but the Lady Panthers turned it on again to extend their lead to the largest of the half at 25 before taking a 50-27 lead into the break.
Drury appeared to be pulling away with six in a row following an and-one for Nicks to open the third, but the Golden Bears turned things around in a hurry with a huge spurt in the middle of the third. In a stretch spanning just over five minutes, CSP rattled off an impressive 19-2 run in which they hit 8-10 from the floor and forced five Drury turnovers to close the gap all the way to single digits at 58-49. Concordia had the Lady Panthers on their heels and were pounding down the door to get back in it, but Drury recovered with a 10-2 run to close out the quarter with their lead back to 17 at 68-51.
The Golden Bears were unable to get much going in the fourth quarter as they attempted a comeback as the Lady Panthers only added to their lead from there. CSP hit just one field goal in the opening five minutes of the quarter, a
Hanna Vidlund three, as they saw the lead pushed back to 23 at 78-55. The lead didn't shrink below 20 the rest of the way as Drury eventually closed out a 93-65 win.
Concordia will look to get back in the win column tomorrow night as they take on Maryville at 7:45 p.m. at Drury to wrap up action in the Drury Thanksgiving Classic.
