ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (13-12, 10-11 NSIC) defeated the Upper Iowa Peacocks (10-16, 6-15 NSIC) Friday on Senior Night, 74-66. The Golden Bears now control their own destiny in securing a home playoff game for the NSIC Tournament.
Concordia was led by incredible scoring outbursts from Ally Gietzel, Jalyn Shaw, and Raegan Alexander who combined to score 64 of CSP's 74 points. Gietzel led the way with 26 points and tied for the eighth best single game rebounding total in CSP history. Gietzel also became the first Golden Bear to put up 20+ points and 17+ rebounds since her head coach Amanda Johnson did it in 2007 with 26 points and 18 rebounds against Bemidji State. The junior wing also dished out six assists and had two steals.
Shaw finished with 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Alexander also scored 19 on a very efficient shooting effort, going 7-for-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from behind the arc. The redshirt-freshman added seven boards, a steal, and a block.
It was a run and gun first quarter for the Bears and Peacocks as both opened the game hot from behind the arc. The two combined for eight 3-pointers with CSP missing two and UIU missing just one. The quarter was back and forth with neither team holding more than a four point lead. Upper Iowa would score with under 30 seconds to go to tie it up at 22 all at the first break.
The Peacocks matched their first quarter scoring total again in the second using an 11-4 run to gain momentum and head into the locker room at the half up six, 44-38. Jalyn Shaw led the way for Concordia in both first half periods, finishing with 17 points at the break.
The Golden Bears gained ground in the third quarter using their defense to slow down and cool off the UIU shooting barrage. CSP forced four Peacock turnovers and dropped UIU's shooting percentage to 28.6-percent from the 55.6-percent they shot in the third quarter. Gietzel, Alexander, and Leah Dengerud would combine for all 15 points in the quarter, including a 7-2 run to bring them within one point with three minutes left in the third and the Bears would be down just three heading into the fourth, 56-53.
Concordia finally broke through in the fourth quarter, tying it up at 60 on an Ally Gietzel layup off of a Dengerud assist. The Peacocks would tie it up one more time, but the rest of the game belonged to the Bears as they outscored Upper Iowa the rest of the way. CSP's final eight points would come from the foul line as UIU's inability to score in the final quarter turned it into a penalty-laden game. The Bears forced the Peacocks into their worst shooting quarter of the game, limiting them to just three baskets and no 3-pointers while keeping them at 18.8-percent from the field. The final six shots from the line belonged to Gietzel as she closed out the game for Concordia with a 74-66 victory.
The Golden Bears now control their destiny to host a first round playoff game. They play on the road at Winona State in their final game of the regular season on Saturday at 5:30 and clinch a home game with a win. The Golden Bears can also clinch a home game if MSU Moorhead loses to University of Mary on Saturday.
