SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (4-2) came alive in the second half to claim a come-from-behind 76-72 win over Maryville (4-1) on Saturday night to close out the Drury Thanksgiving Classic.
 
After shooting 35.3% (12-34) in the opening half, the Golden Bears caught fire after the break and hit 62.1% (18-29) in the second half to complete the comeback. Conversely, Maryville knocked down 44.4% (12-27) in the first half before the CSP defense held them to 32.0% (8-25) in the second. The Golden Bears also claimed an edge in the turnover category as they forced 19 and committed 13.
 
The big three of Mishayla Jones, Lauren Shifflett and Anna Schmitt carried the load offensively as they all finished in double figures scoring for Concordia.
 
Jones led the way with 16 points on 7-15 from the floor while adding seven rebounds and three assists to fill out the line. Moving into the starting lineup, Shifflett stayed hot with 14 points on 5-10 shooting to go along with a pair of steals before fouling out. Her efforts in the two games earned her a place on the All-Tournament Team for the second weekend in a row. Schmitt was impressive off the bench with 13 points on an even 4-8 from the field as she also chipped in three assists.
 
Ali Ringering was aggressive for the Saints as she led all scorers with 21 points as she connected on 12-13 from the free throw line. Jordynn Martin, Alex Wolf and Alex Hillyer also scored in double figures as well for Maryville.
 
Concordia got off to an icy start as they missed 13 of their first 15 shots to fall behind 16-5 in the first quarter as the Saints took control early. The Golden Bears quickly recovered to claim the final five points of the opening quarter, but still trailed 16-10 through 10 minutes. CSP hit just 4-17 and 1-7 from three in the first.
 
The lead hit double figures again early in the second as Maryville extended their lead back to 10 at 22-12 two and a half minutes into the period. CSP closed it back to six a few minutes later only to see it pushed back to 11 at 31-20 at the 3:23 mark. Once again showing some resilience, Concordia shrunk the deficit to five with a 6-0 run and matched the Saints the rest of the quarter to go into the half trailing 38-33.
 
The Golden Bears completely shifted the momentum in the second half as they claimed the first two buckets of the half to pull within one. The two teams traded buckets over the next several minutes until Concordia took their first lead of the night at 43-42. The lead changed hands several times as the Saints went back in front at 49-48 with 1:19 left in the third before a 5-0 run to close it out gave the Golden Bears the lead for good.
 
After Maryville poured in the first basket of the fourth, Concordia answered with seven in a row to make it a 12-2 run overall to take their largest lead of the night with a nine point advantage. Five straight for Maryville cut the CSP lead to four, but they wouldn't come within one possession the rest of the game as Concordia closed the game out strong. After Concordia went back up nine at 68-59, the lead remained between four and seven the rest of the way as the Golden Bears held the Saints at bay. CSP eventually settled with a 76-72 differential to pick up their third comeback win in four games.
 
Concordia will open NSIC play next weekend as Wayne State and Augustana come to town.