ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia University women's basketball team (13-10, 9-8 NSIC) finished off the weekend sweep with a 78-74 win over the University of Mary (8-16, 6-12 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at the Gangelhoff Center.
Concordia's bench provided a spark in the win as the unit combined to outscore the Marauder bench 28-4 in the win.
Amanda Barton led the way with 11 points, eight boards, three assists and a pair of steals while
Lauren Shifflett went 3-4 from beyond the arc to finish with nine points.
CU Women's BB vs. University of Mary 2.8.2015 - Images by
Justin Oakman Despite seeing U-Mary connect on 52.9% (9-17) from three-point range and 48.3% (28-58) overall, the Golden Bears were able to secure the victory.
The Golden Bears took advantage of Marauder mistakes as they turned 17 U-Mary turnovers into 19 points while the Marauders collected just seven points off 11 CU turnovers.
Concordia also gained an edge in the rebounding category with 38 rebounds (11 offensive) compared to 34 rebounds (seven offensive) for U-Mary.
With the outcome of the game still very much up in the air down the stretch,
Mishayla Jones calmly knocked down 8-9 from the free throw line en route to a team-high 16 points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds in the win.
Anika Whiting overcame a tough shooting night to finish with 15 points and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of season as well for Concordia.
Ameshia Kearney quietly added 11 points, five assists, two blocks, two steals and two rebounds as a steadying presence for the Golden Bears.
Sloan Turner was fed early and often for the Marauders as she hit 8-17 from the floor to finish with 19 points, six boards and three steals and Hannah Larson chipped in a double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for U-Mary.
It appeared to be anybody's game in the early going as neither team as able to gain much of an advantage. Haley Hibbs buried a three at the 14:57 mark to push the Marauder lead to 15-10 to give them what would be their largest lead of the night but it wouldn't last as Concordia battled back to take the lead.
U-Mary still held a three point lead with 9:17 to go in the half at 27-25 before five different Golden Bears combined to score 15 of the next 17 points spanning nearly six minutes. Hibbs and Dani Clarke answered back with back-to-back threes to cut it back to four before the two teams traded baskets the rest of the way to bring it to half with a score of 41-37.
Concordia shot a solid 48.5% from the floor in the first half compared to 34.5% after the break as made baskets were harder to come by in the final 20 minutes.
The Marauders scored the first five points of the second half to regain the lead as the two teams jostled for the lead over the next several minutes. The next six minutes featured five ties and a lead change as Concordia eventually regained the lead. An 11-2 CU run turned a 54-52 U-Mary advantage into a 63-56 CU lead with 8:06 to play as Concordia appeared to be in control.
U-Mary wouldn't go away as they scored the next nine points to regain the lead at 67-65 with under four minutes to go. Concordia took the lead back for good with a 7-0 run of their own. The Marauders eventually cut the deficit back down to one with 1:03 to play on a tough shot from Brittany Dietz but Concordia answered back with a Kearney lay-in. U-Mary had several opportunities to tie the game in the final minute but the Golden Bears picked up some big stops on the defensive end and Jones put it away at the line by making 3-4 in the final nine seconds to secure a 78-74 win.
The Golden Bears won't have much of a break as will look to extend their winning streak to three at Minnesota State on Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
