ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (4-0) needed overtime to complete a 15-point comeback, defeating Maryville (Mo.) (1-3) 83-80 on Saturday afternoon. Trailing 71-68, senior guard Lydia Haack was fouled on a 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left in the game and made all three free throws to send the game into overtime.
The Golden Bears won the overtime period at the free throw line, making 6-8. CSP shot 16-19 from the charity stripe in the final 15 minutes of play. Sophomore guard Ashley Schuelke also came alive with two field goals and a free throw.
The Golden Bears were led by Haack with 24 points and 10 assists. This marked her second double-double of the season and the fifth of her career. Junior guard Leah Dengerud had 15 points and senior forward Lindsey Becher scored 10 points with nine rebounds.
Concordia-St. Paul trailed by 15 in the third quarter after the Saints made the opening basket of the second half, marking CSP's largest deficit of the game. The Golden Bears went on a 9-0 run, cutting the lead to six. With Maryville trying to extend the lead later in the quarter, sophomore forward Lauren Wilson hit two key 3-pointers and the Golden Bears trailed by four heading into the fourth.
After a 3-pointer by the Saints, CSP wore down the Saints for an 11-2 fourth quarter run to take the lead. Megan Gamble made two 3-pointers during this stretch for the most she's made in a game this season. CSP took the lead on another 3-pointer by Julia Bengtson with 6:23 left, marking their first lead since the 4:32 mark of the first quarter.
The Saints battled back, taking a 64-61 lead before Haack scored four straight points to reclaim it at 65-64. After a few back-and-forth plays to tie the game, Rake was fouled by Becher with two seconds left. A quick turnover and foul by CSP allowed the Saints to go up by three before Haack's final play and clutch free throws.
CSP struggled in the first half, trailing 21-9 early in the second quarter. A 9-0 run kept the Golden Bears in the game before it was answered by an 11-0 run by the Saints. CSP trailed 34-21 at the half after shooting 8-30 (26.7%) while Maryville shot 11-29 (37.9%).
10 assists marked Haack's career-high and she also had her second-most free throws made in a game after going 10-11 at the line. Becher blocked five shots upping her career total to 237, now 27 behind the most in a career in school history.
Dengerud's 15 points were her most of the season and tied for the second-most in her career. She added three assists and a steal. Wilson finished with nine points and three rebounds.
Schuelke scored seven points in the game with three assists. Emma Mommsen, Gamble and Bengtson each scored six points. Gamble grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and is averaging 9.8 per game, which is currently second in the NSIC.
Concordia's largest advantage was on fast break points outrunning Maryville's zone defense for a 29-7 advantage. CSP also outscored Maryville 32-24 in the paint. Maryville's bench had the advantage 36-22 and the Saints had a slight advantage off of turnovers 18-15.
Both teams had 18 turnovers and Maryville had a slight rebounding edge at 44-42. CSP finished the game shooting 28-65 (43.1%) and Maryville finished 26-68 (38.2%). Each team made nine 3-pointers and the Saints made one more free throw than the Golden Bears.
The Golden Bears continue their best start since the 2021 COVID-19 season where they started 5-0. CSP will have a chance to tie that start on Wednesday, Nov. 20 against Missouri Western (2-2) at 6 p.m. in the Gangelhoff Center.
