ST. PAUL , Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul (7-6, 4-5 NSIC) dropped its second straight game at home, falling 62-34 to #23 Minnesota Duluth (12-2, 9-0 NSIC) on Friday evening at Gangelhoff Center.
The Bulldogs set the tone out of the gate, scoring 13 of the game's first 17 points and mounted a quick 17-6 lead with CSP narrowing it slightly to 17-11 at the first quarter break. The 11 points would be the most in a quarter for the Bears in the game and their best shooting quarter, going 5-for-12 from the field (41.7 percent) and making their only shot attempt from behind the arc.Â
In the second quarter UMD showed why they were the top ranked NSIC defense coming into the game, holding the Golden Bears to just one made shot from the field on 13 attempts. The Bulldogs also limited CSP to just five points, tying the Bears season low against Upper Iowa. Minnesota Duluth closed out the half on a dominant 15-0 run, to lead 36-16 at the break.
The stifling defense continued in the second half as the CSP women would score only nine points over the next two frames. During the third quarter, the Bulldogs remained perfect from the foul line, hitting all five in the quarter and their first 14 of the game, finishing 15-for-16. The Golden Bears were just 1-for-3 in the third from the charity stripe, but 7-of-10 for the game. Another 9-0 run for UMD would wind down the quarter before coming to an end on a Jalyn Shaw layup to send it to the fourth with Concordia down 51-25.Â
Neither team would have an effective offensive attack in the fourth quarter, combining to go 6-of-30 from the field and 0-for-7 from downtown. Minnesota Duluth was able to win the quarter with free-throws once again hitting five to Concordia's three and the game would wind down to a 62-34 final.Â
The 34 points, 23.2 shooting percentage, and 9.1 3-point percentage for the Golden Bears were all season lows as the Bulldogs finished shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 25-percent from three. Turnovers were key again for the Golden Bears as their 15 giveaways turned into a 19-5 advantage for UMD on points off turnovers.Â
The CSP women were outscored 34-22 on points in the paint, thanks largely in part to the play of the reigning NSIC North Player of Year Brooke Olsen. The grad-senior forward finished as the highest scoring player with 18 points while battling through foul trouble, adding nine rebounds and a block.Â
On the Concordia side, Ally Gietzel continued to be the best option for CSP, scoring 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting and going 5-of-6 from the foul line. The junior wing was the only Concordia player in double digits for the Bears, while on the way picking up three rebounds and a steal.Â
Jalyn Shaw and Raegen Alexander were the only other Golden Bears to score more than four points, with Shaw scoring eight with three rebounds and Alexander scoring five with a team-high seven rebounds.Â
Concordia will be back in action tomorrow at 3:30 against St. Cloud State at Gangelhoff Center. The Huskies are coming off a tough game against rival #5 Minnesota State, losing 86-61 on the road.Â
