SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (8-11, 4-9 NSIC) had their three-game winning streak snapped as they were handed a 69-64 loss at Sioux Falls (16-4, 10-4 NSIC) on Friday night.
 
The Golden Bears held the Cougars to just 33.3% (21-63) from the floor, but were unable to overcome a 50-33 rebounding deficit as Sioux Falls controlled the glass. USF corralled 14 offensive rebounds while CSP had just one on the night.
 
Concordia held Sioux Falls to 26.7% or below in each of the first three quarters and led 49-46 heading into the fourth before the Cougars fired 60.0% in the final period to claim the win. CSP finished at 42.9% (24-56) from the field on the night.
 
CSP's record fell to 6-3 against Sioux Falls in the all-time series as they dropped to 5-2 in league play against the Cougars with the loss.
 
Caitlyn Russell carried the scoring load for the Golden Bears as she poured in a career high with 24 points on 9-15 shooting and 6-9 from the charity stripe in 31 minutes of action. She also matched her career best with four blocks as she added four boards and two assists.
 
Lauren Shifflett joined Russell in double figures as she scored 12 points on 4-8 from the field and 3-5 from deep as she also chipped in two rebounds and two steals in the loss. Mishayla Jones was next up for CSP as she finished with nine points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals while Anna Schmitt put up seven points and nine boards.
 
Taylor Varsho paced the Cougars with 23 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists as she hit 8-20 from the floor in the win. Teagan Molden added a double-digit effort with 14 points off the bench as well.
 
Neither team was able to build much of an advantage in the early going as the lead changed hands six times in the first four and a half minutes of the opening quarter. Concordia took over from there as they turned a 9-8 USF lead into a 13-9 advantage of their own with five points in a row. CSP continued to add to their lead from there as their advantage hit seven at 18-11 and again at 20-13 before taking a 20-15 lead into the second.
 
After the CSP lead returned to seven early in the second quarter, USF fought back to tie the score up at 24-24 at the 6:34 mark. The two teams traded baskets for the next few minutes before Sioux Falls stormed ahead at 33-28 with less than two minutes to go in the half. The Golden Bears managed to close the gap back to one as the Cougars went into the half up 34-33.
 
Including a three from Jones to end the first half, Concordia embarked on a 10-0 run to take the lead back at 40-34 early in the third quarter. The lead hovered between two and six for the rest of the quarter as the Golden Bears went into the fourth with a 49-46 advantage.
 
Concordia's lead wouldn't last much longer as the Cougars scored 10 of the first 12 points in the fourth to build a five point advantage of their own. The Golden Bears were unable to recover as they didn't get any closer than three the rest of the way before USF closed it out 69-64.
 
The Golden Bears will look to get back in the win column tomorrow night as they travel to Southwest Minnesota State for a 5 p.m. tip-off.