ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (9-12, 5-10 NSIC) fell to MSU Moorhead (14-4, 11-4 NSIC) in their return to Gangelhoff Center by a score of 77-59 on Friday night.
The Golden Bears were held to just 36.2% (21-58) shooting and 30.4% (7-23) from deep in the loss while the Dragons connected on 40.3% (29-72) from the floor and 40.7% (11-27) from beyond the arc.
In addition to their advantage from three-point range and from the field, MSU Moorhead held a strong advantage in rebounding as they picked up 47 boards (14 offensive) compared to 37 (seven offensive) for Concordia. The MSUM bench also out-scored CSP's by a margin of 20-6 on the night.
On a tough night offensively,
Caitlyn Russell and
Mishayla Jones led the way for the Golden Bears as they finished as the only two in double figures in scoring. Russell hit 7-13 from the floor to put up 14 points to go along with five boards, five blocks and three assists while Jones finished with 12 points and five assists.
Kyrah Fredenburg continued her dominance on the glass as she fell a point shy of a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds in the game. It marked the fifth time in six games in which she collected at least 12 boards for the Golden Bears.
Anna Schmitt also fell a point short of double figures with nine as she added six rebounds and four assists as well.
It was a balanced attack for the Dragons as five players finished in double figures, led by Heather Striese's double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Savanna Handevidt was also impressive as she put up 14 points and eight boards.
The Dragons set the tone from the start as they ran out to a quick 13-2 lead by the 6:41 mark to put Concordia in a hole. The Golden Bears slowed the momentum a bit over the next few minutes as they pulled back within seven at 17-10 before MSUM extended their lead all the way to 25-10. CSP hit a three before the end of the quarter to make it 25-13 heading into the second.
The Golden Bears would be unable to shrink the gap back to single digits the rest of the way as MSU Moorhead continued to expand their lead. The advantage hit 17 in the early minutes of the second before Concordia pulled within 11, but the Dragons quickly pushed it to 19 before taking a 45-29 lead into the half.
MSU Moorhead continued to pad their lead in the third as it reached 21 by the 6:18 mark before growing as large as 23 in the period. Concordia cut it below 20 before the end of the third quarter, but the Dragons ended the period with a 65-45 lead.
The Dragons continued to maintain a comfortable lead in the fourth as the Golden Bears wouldn't pull closer than 17 as they finished it off 77-59.
Concordia will look to get back in the win column tomorrow afternoon as they play host to Northern State at 4 p.m.
