ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team earned a bounce win Saturday night, defeating Minnesota Crookston in dominant fashion, 94-74. The Golden Bears posted their highest point total of the season, highlighted by a 31 point night from Lauren Wilson.
It is the third time this season that the junior forward has scored 30 or more in a game, with her season-high being a pair of 34 point performances earlier this year against Fort Hays State and Michigan Tech. Wilson was efficient all night long, going 12-of-14 from the field and 7-of-9 at the free throw line, with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 1 block as well.
Lydia Haack tallied 23 points on the night, shooting 6-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-5 from three and 8-of-9 at the charity stripe. The senior guard grabbed 7 boards and dished out 5 assists, with 1 block and 1 steal on defense.
Two other Golden Bears managed double digit point totals in the blowout win, with Leah Dengerud putting together a 13 point night on 5-of-11 from the field, with 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Ashley Schuelke managed 11 points, while shooting 5-of-9, with 2 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.
Lauren Feddema scored 8 points off the bench for CSP, with 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Emma Mommsen and Ayana Bousum each tallied 4 points in the win as well.
As a team the Golden Bears turned in their best shooting performance of the season going 34-of-58 (58.6%) from the field, while the Golden Eagles were 28-of-61 (45.9%) shooting on the night.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with CSP grabbing a 7-4 lead on a fastbreak three from Lydia Haack. Crookston was efficient from beyond the arc early, going 5-of-6 in the opening period to lead 25-18 at the end of the first.
Concordia battled back in the second, using an 8-2 run to tie the game at 40 on a tip-in layup from Ayana Bousum. The Golden Bears went 6-of-11 from the floor in the second, rattling off six more points to close out the half holding a slim 46-45 lead.
Crookston grabbed the lead once more in the third, going up 51-49 on a two-point jumper. CSP later tied the game at 54, putting together a 17-4 run to close out the quarter, opening up a 71-58 lead.
It was all Golden Bears from there, with the lead ballooning to 19 on a Leah Dengerud three ball at the 7:29 mark of the fourth. CSP went 9-of-15 from the field to close it out, leading by as many as 21 points and winning by a score of 94-74.
CSP was dominant inside the paint with 54 points to Crookston's 32. On the glass the Golden Bears outrebounded the Golden Eagles by a 36-25 margin.
The Golden Bears are back on the road next week, when they head to Jamestown, North Dakota to take on the Jimmies on Friday, Jan. 16. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
