ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (7-10, 3-8 NSIC) completed the weekend sweep with a win over Bemidji State (6-10, 2-10 NSIC) by a score of 83-76 on Saturday afternoon at the Gangeholl Center.
The Golden Bears led nearly wire-to-wire as they dominated play for the second night in a row. Concordia controlled nearly every facet of the game as they held the edge in rebounding (38-35, including 10-8 offensive), second chance points (11-3), points in the paint (34-28), turnovers forced (16-13) and points off of turnovers (26-16).
Concordia also held a narrow advantage in shooting percentage as they knocked down 44.6% (29-65) from the floor compared to 44.3% (27-61) for the Beavers. CSP also hit an impressive 52.9% (9-17) from deep as well as 88.9% (16-18) from the free throw line.
Lauren Shifflett was lights out from the floor as she knocked down eight of her 14 shots, including a red-hot 6-9 from deep, to finish with a game-high 23 points in the win.
Mishayla Jones delivered another dominant performance to close out a big weekend as put up a full line of 19 points, seven boards, four assists and two steals in 37 minutes of action.
Anna Schmitt also put up another huge night as she hit the 20-point mark for the sixth time this season and second time in a row. She contributed 20 points on an efficient 6-11 shooting to go along with five assists.
Not to be outdone,
Kyrah Fredenburg following up her record-tying 21 rebound effort with another 16 boards in the win. Her 18.5 rebounds per game over the weekend bumped her season average from 9.6 to 10.6 as she continues to lead the league in that category.
Caitlyn Russell joined the trio in double digits with 10 points while
Hanna Vidlund poured in seven points in the opening quarter as well.
The Beavers saw four of their five starters score at least 13 points, led by Hanna Zerr's 18. Sierra Senske picked up a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds for Bemidji State as well.
For the second straight night, Concordia set the tone from the opening quarter. After BSU took an early 4-3 lead, the Golden Bears grabbed a five point advantage with an 8-2 run to make it 11-6 in their favor midway through the period. The Beavers eventually regained the lead with just under two minutes to go in the first before CSP rattled off eight of the final 10 to bring a 21-16 lead into the second.
After a bucket on the opening possession of the second for Bemidji State, Concordia's defense put the clamps on the BSU offense. CSP used an extended 12-0 run to push their lead all the way to 15 at 33-18 while holding the Beavers off the board for over six minutes of action. BSU cut it back to 10 with a jumper followed by a three, but Concordia maintained their double-digit advantage as they took a 38-26 lead into the locker room at the half.
Concordia quickly added to their lead in the third quarter as an 11-3 run spanning in first three minutes pushed their lead to the highest of the night at 49-29. That massive advantage wouldn't last long, however, as the Beavers answered back with a 15-0 run over the ensuing four minutes. BSU pulled as close as four in the third at 51-47 before the momentum shifted again with eight straight going in favor of CSP. Bemidji State buried a three at the buzzer, but the Golden Bears still maintained a comfortable 59-50 advantage heading into the fourth.
Bemidji State made things interesting in the fourth quarter as they closed the gap down to five less than two minutes in before remaining within two to three possessions for much of the rest of the game. The Beavers pulled as close as four at 72-68 with 1:48 left to play, but they were unable to complete the comeback as CSP closed out the game strong. The Golden Bears eventually pushed the lead back to double figures in the final minute before settling with an 83-76 final.
Concordia will look to make it three wins in a row at the Gangelhoff Center as they host Minnesota State on Tuesday night.
