MARSHALL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (6-3, 4-3 NSIC) fell to Southwest Minnesota State (6-1, 4-1 NSIC) 58-50 on Saturday evening, snapping their 17-game win streak over the Mustangs.
Neither team was particularly sharp in the first quarter, with each squad shooting under 27% from the floor. The Golden Bears struggled to generate offense, going 0-6 from beyond the arc and 4-19 from the floor in the first frame. At the end of one, the Mustangs carried a 13-10 lead.
The second quarter was not much kinder to the Bears' offense as the they shot just 3-15 from the floor, though they did mange to hit two three-point shots on four attempts. Though the offense was far from stellar, the CSP defense stepped up big to hold the Mustangs to just 2-17 shooting from the floor and only five points in the quarter. The Golden Bears carried a 20-18 lead into the half.
Each offense heated up some in the third, with the Golden Bears shooting 5-15 and the Mustangs shooting 6-13. The teams kept pace with each other throughout the quarter, but it was the Mustangs closing it out stronger as they jumped back on top 38-35 heading into the fourth.
The Mustangs remained in control for the duration of the fourth, outscoring the Bears 20-15 to seal the victory.
The Bears had their worst shooting day of the season so far, going just 18-67 (26.9%) from the floor and registering a season-low 50 points. Despite the poor offensive showing, the Bears played well defensively, holding the Mustangs to an identical shooting percentage of 26.9% on 18-67 shooting.
Senior guard
Riley Wheatcraft carried much of the load for Concordia as she registered the team's first double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman forward
Lindsey Becher had another strong defensive showing, tying her career-high of seven blocks in a game and falling just one block short of the school record of eight blocks set by Kionda Nicks in 2014. Becher and junior guard
Meghan DuBois each contributed six points while senior forward
Ayla Lemke led all bench scorers with seven points.
Abuk Akoi led the Mustangs on each end of the court as she finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks. Sadie Stelter and Caleigh Rodning also finished in double figures with 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
The Golden Bears and Mustangs will face off again tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the R/A Facility.
