KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Concordia St. Paul women's basketball team (1-1) claimed their first victory of the season against Washburn (0-2) on Saturday night, 61-59. The Golden Bears and Ichabods played at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. in the Central Region Challenge hosted by Pittsburg State.
The Golden Bears were led by Lindsay Dorr, who racked up a career-high 26 points on 10-15 shooting. The senior center also pulled down nine rebounds in the victory. The Golden Bears defense was rock solid down the stretch, holding Washburn scoreless for over four minutes straight near the end of the fourth quarter.
The game was tightly contested throughout, especially in the final three quarters as neither team had more than six-point lead. The two teams were evenly matched, as in the preseason D2SIDA Central Regional Poll Concordia was ranked 9th with Washburn tabbed as 10th.
The Golden Bears started out slow for the second straight night, but again bounced back in another tight contest. CSP was stuck at three points for most of the first quarter, but scored eight in the final 2:42 to trail by just one (12-11) going into the second quarter.
CSP would take their first lead early in the second quarter, as freshman Meghan Dubois sank two free throws for her first points as a member of the Golden Bears, giving Concordia a 14-13 lead. Neither team would take a lead greater than four points throughout the rest of the half, and the Ichabods went into the halftime break with a slim 27-26 edge.
The third quarter featured more of the same kind of action between the two teams, as neither team again led by more than four. The Ichabods held a slim margin for most of the quarter, and went into the final 10 minutes of the game with a 42-40 lead.
Washburn would stretch their lead out to six points multiple times in the fourth quarter, but the Golden Bears would lock down on defense and hit a few key baskets down the stretch to pick up the victory. After an Ichabod layup with 4:41 left in the game gave Washburn a 56-50 lead, the Golden Bears went on a run to ensure the win.
A layup by Dorr and a three by Hanna Vidlund quickly cut the deficit to one. Dorr would sink two free throws with just over three minutes left in the game to give the Golden Bears a 57-56 edge. After two minutes of scoreless basketball, Dorr hit two of four free throws over two trips to the line in the final minute. Anna Schmitt sealed the game with two free throws of her own.
Schmitt was second on the team with 13 points, making 7-8 free throws and grabbing five rebounds. Her fellow senior captain Kyrah Fredenburg was also instrumental in the win, going an identical 7-8 from the charity stripe and pulling down 11 boards.
Reagan Phelan led the Icahbods in scoring, putting up 16 points on 6-17 shooting and grabbing five rebounds. Alexis McAfee also chipped in 10 points and six rebounds for Washburn.
CSP played their best basketball in the fourth quarter, as Washburn made just two of their last ten shots. The Golden Bears were also 12-14 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to help secure the victory.
The Golden Bears will have just two days off before returning to action in their home opener at the Gangelhoff Center against Wisconsin-Superior on November 13th. That contest will tip off at 7 p.m.
