Jan. 19–

Amanda Behnke hits a lay-up to put CU up 65-54 at SMSU

Third-ranked Concordia (18-0, 9-0 NSIC) survived an 8:14 minute scoring drought in the second half to win their 18th straight game with a 71-65 win over Southwest Minnesota State (7-10, 3-6 NSIC) in Marshall, MN on Saturday evening.

The Golden Bears were led by senior Amanda Behnke (Eagan, MN) with a game-high 18 points and 13 rebounds to record her sixth double-double of the season. 

Concordia scored the first points of the game on a pair of free throws by Behnke.  After the Mustangs countered with a pair of free throws of their own to tie the game 2-2 with 19:01 to play in the first half senior Katie LaViolette (Manitowoc, WI) gave the Golden Bears a lead they would hold until Southwest Minnesota State tied the game for only the second time with 1:14 to play in the second half.

The Golden Bears would lead by as many as 12 in the first half on three different occasasions, with the last coming on a lay-up by junior Candace Olstad (Elgin, MN) to give Concordia a 22-10 lead with 13:16 to play in the half. 

Concordia would take a 41-33 lead into the intermission.

The second half started with Concordia moving the lead back to ten at 51-41 at 17:18, but the Golden Bears would not score again until 9:04, a span of 8:14.  In that time Southwest Minnesota State was unable to cut the lead to more that two points at 51-49 at 11:18.

The Golden Bears moved the lead back to 11 at 65-54 with 4:42 to play on a layup by Behnke.  But SMSU tied it up at 65-65 with 1:14 remaining in the game after freshman Tori Fink hit back-to-back three-pointers and a lay-up by Heidi Kimmes. 

Lund's put back put CU up by two

Senior Kelly Lund (New Brighton, MN) was able to get an easy put back lay-up to give the Golden Bears a lead that they would not relinquish with 00:55 at 67-65.

Senior Mary Schroeder (Minneapolis, MN) and LaViolette would each make a pair of free throws down the stretch the secure the win for Concordia. 

Four Golden Bears scored in double-figures, led by Behnke who finished with 18 points on 5-13 from the field and 8-10 from the free throw line. 

LaViolette's lay- up gave CU a nine point lead, 63-54

Schroeder and LaViolette each added 15, while Olstad had 12 points in the win.  Schroeder was 5-7 from the field, including 3-5 from beyond the arc and 2-2 from the free throw line, while LaViolette was 4-14 from the field, but a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe. 

The Golden Bears connected on 23-of-66 shots for a 34.8% shooting percentage, while Southwest finished the game with a shooting percentage of 39.3 percent. 

Concordia outrebounded the Mustangs 44 to 35 in the contest, with 19 rebounds coming on the offensive end.  The Golden Bears tallied 15 second chance points, compared to seven for SMSU.

The Mustangs were led by Tori Fink who had a career-high 17 points.  She was 6-of-13 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range.  Fink was one of three Mustangs to record double-digits. Heidi Kimmes also added 17 points and grabbed four rebounds.  Sara Leidall contributed 14 points and led the team with six rebounds.

Mary Schroeder delivers a three-pointer to put CU ahead 61-53 in the second half. She finished with a season-high 15 points

 
The Golden Bears return to action on Jan. 26 when they put their perfect record on the line at MSU Moorhead in NSIC competition.

Photography courtesy Bob Cunningham

BOX SCORE - CU 71, SW MN St 65