ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team started exhibition play on Friday night, winning 95-92 in overtime against NAIA No. 6 Dakota State. Junior Lydia Haack scored 29 points with 11 assists, eight steals and six rebounds in her Golden Bear debut.
Trailing 81-79 with seven seconds left in regulation, Haack drove the length of the court and hit a right-handed layup with one second left on the clock. Senior Megan Gamble blocked a game-winning 3-point attempt by Dakota State's Lilli Mackley, sending the game to overtime.
Haack took over in overtime, scoring eight points and adding four steals in the five-minute period. With the game tied at 89-89, Haack found Lauren Wilson up the court who hit a layup with 35 seconds left through a foul. The Golden Bears held on from there to secure the win.
Concordia trailed 46-42 at halftime after Dakota State shot 51.4% from the field in the first half. Both teams made 18 field goals, but CSP had 12 more shots and Dakota State made three more 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of play.
After the Trojans made a free throw to open the second half, CSP went on an 11-0 run to take a six-point lead. Concordia outscored Dakota State 23-7 in the third quarter to lead 65-53 at the end for the Golden Bears' largest lead of the game.
The Trojans didn't falter, going on a 14-4 run in the fourth quarter to tie the game. With the score tied at 75, Mackley hit a 3-pointer to take Dakota State's largest lead of the quarter. Back-to-back jumpers by Haack and Lindsey Becher allowed CSP to retake the lead at 79-78, before the Trojans hit three free throws, retaking the lead at 81-79.
Becher was CSP's second-leading scorer with 22 points, all in regulation as she fouled out of the game seven seconds left. She shot 8-of-14 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. The senior added a team-high 13 rebounds and six blocks.
Wilson finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. She had a +/- of +17 in the contest, the highest of any Golden Bear. Newcomer Julia Bengtson scored 13 points with seven rebounds and seven assists.
Sophomore Ashley Schuelke scored 10 points with four steals and five rebounds. Schuelke and Bengtson led CSP with two 3-pointers each. Emma Mommsen scored six points and Gamble added two points with three steals.
The Trojans were led by forward Tabor Teel with 21 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Mackley added 20 points after making a game-high five 3-pointers. Forward Angela Slattery had a double-double with 18 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
The Golden Bears outscored the Trojans 42-36 in the paint. There were eight different lead changes and eight ties in the game. Both teams were fairly even on time with the lead as CSP had it for 60 seconds longer than Dakota State.
Concordia shot 38.6% from the field shooting 34-of-88. Dakota State shot 32-of-82 for 39%. Dakota State shot 35.1% from behind the arc compared to 25% from CSP. The Golden Bears outrebounded Dakota State by five and had five fewer turnovers.
The Golden Bears are back in action Tuesday night for this season's final exhibition game against St. Catherine in the Gangelhoff Center at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Concordia opens up regular season play in Warrensburg, Missouri against Central Missouri on Nov. 8.
