ST. PAUL, Minn. - The No. 13 Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (11-0, 5-0 NSIC) shot 20-35 (57.1%) in the first half to down Augustana (S.D.) (1-9, 0-5 NSIC) 80-58 on Saturday afternoon. After scoring a season-high 22 points on Friday night against Wayne State, senior center Lindsey Becher added another 20-point performance with 21 in Saturday's win vs. the Vikings.
Becher only played 16:20 in the contest, with most of her production coming in the second and third quarters. She finished the game shooting 9-14 from the field after making nine of her last 10 shots. The senior also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
The 11-0 start marks the second-best in program history, topping 2009-10's 10-0 start. This season's start sits behind 2007-08's 18-0 start for the best in program history. Concordia also achieves the first 5-0 start in NSIC play since 2009-10 with the win.
After Augustana scored the game's opening bucket, CSP went on a 9-0 run with junior guard Lydia Haack assisting or scoring on seven of the nine points. Concordia led 19-13 in the first quarter after Haack assisted or scored on 14 of the 19 points.
Augustana scored the first basket of the second quarter to cut the lead to four. After that, Concordia went on a 15-2 run with Becher scoring 12 of the 15 points. Augustana hit a 3-pointer to halt the run, but Concordia went on to outscore the Vikings 14-4 the rest of the way before the halftime buzzer.
The Golden Bears finished the second quarter shooting 12-17 (70.6%) from the field and 5-6 (83.3%) from behind the arc. Sophomore forward Lauren Wilson went 3-3 from behind the arc in the quarter. CSP outscored Augustana 29-11 in the second period behind 14 points from Becher and nine points from Wilson.
The momentum continued in the second half with CSP extending the lead to a game-high 28 points in the third quarter. Many Concordia bench players saw action in the second half. Ella Campbell scored two points from the free-throw line and Raegan Alexander hit a 3-pointer, both of the players' first points of the season.
Wilson tied her season-high she set against Truman State earlier this season with 13 points, while also tying a season-high in 3-pointers made with three. She also stole the ball a team-high three times, which also tied a season-high.
Haack finished with 12 points and a team-high six assists. She shot 5-9 (55.5%) from the field. Senior Megan Gamble tallied seven points and two assists shooting 3-3 from the field. Gamble finished a perfect 6-6 from the field this weekend.
Junior guard Leah Dengerud finished with six points off of two 3-pointers with two assists and a steal. Sophomore forward Emma Mommsen added six points and six rebounds. Ashley Schuelke scored five points with two assists.
Seniors Julia Bengtson and Mikayla Kanenwisher scored three and two points respectively. Kanenwisher also added two rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Bengtson finished with two assists.
The Vikings were led by Brinlee McRae with 12 points and Uzor Uchidiuno with 11 points shooting 5-5 from the field. Hannah Burg added seven points with a team-high three assists.
The Golden Bears outscored the Vikings 38-28 in the paint and 15-5 off of turnovers. Augustana's bench outscored CSP's 33-31. Augustana outscored Concordia 26-11 on second-chance points.
Concordia finished the game shooting 30-60 (50%), their second-highest mark of the season slightly behind the Central Missouri game on Nov. 9. The Golden Bears shot 32-63 (50.8%) in that 83-61 win. This was the third-most points CSP has scored this season.
Augustana finished the game shooting 22-60 (36.7%) from the field. The Vikings outrebounded Concordia 38-32 behind a 17-10 offensive rebound margin.
Concordia's 11-straight wins ties 2003-04 for the sixth-longest win streak in school history. 2010-11's 13-game win streak is in fifth place. The best mark in school history is 18 games which happened both in 1976-77 and 2007-08.
The Golden Bears are back in action on Thursday, Dec. 19 in Mankato against No. 12 Minnesota State (9-2, 5-0 NSIC). The Mavericks are the reigning NCAA Division II National Champions and defeated Sioux Falls by three points on Saturday to stay unbeaten in conference play. CSP, Minnesota State and MSU Moorhead are the three remaining teams that are undefeated in NSIC play. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Taylor Center.
