Candace Olstad Reaches 1,000 With Career High 27 Points

Dec. 21– ST. PAUL, Minn. - It took a career high 27 point scoring effort for Concordia senior Candace Olstad to land on the nose at 1,000 career points in front of a home crowd on Sunday afternoon.  Olstad was the leading scorer in CU's 83-60 win over Valley City State and was followed by Kali Olstad, also marking a career high with 20 points.  Both were named to the 2008 Radisson Hotel Roseville Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team. The Golden Bears put the non-conference game largely out of reach of Viking attack within the first five minutes of the game, going up 18-3.  The Olstads combined for 31 of the team's 45 first half points, with Kali draining 5-of-6 threes and Candace going 5-of-6 from the field.  The team pulled down 27 boards and dominated play down low with 20 points in the paint on their way to the 45-30 halftime lead.  Valley City State scored more than half of their points (16) from the charity stripe. The Golden Bears kept the good times rolling in the second half, leading by as many as 30 points, 83-53 at the 3:15 mark.  Concordia's bench saw plenty of playing time, with all available players putting in at least six minute on the clock.  Candace Olstad continued to lay in baskets from the paint, reaching 25 points before heading to the line for a 1-and-1 opportunity at the 4:02 mark.  Two points shy of joining the 1,000 Point Club and a road game up next on the schedule, Olstad dropped in both free shots to land squarely at 1,000. Gillian Bjerke led the Golden Bears to another 50+ rebounding effort with 11 boards.  C. Olstad was the next top player on the glass with eight rebounds.  Candace and Kali Olstad, with 27 and 20 points each, respectively, took care of the majority of the team's scoring on the afternoon and were the only players to finish in double figures.  The Golden Bears worked well with each other to create shots, dishing 24 assists on 30 field goals.  Zoraa Quoie had ten assists.  The team shot 42.3% from the field and hit 9-of-19 shots from beyond the arc for 47.4%. The Vikings of Valley City State shot just 26.6% from the field in the blowout loss.  They attempted to stay in the game with 16 three-point attempts, but connected on only three.  The finished with 23-of-29 free throws and had 41 rebounds to CU's 54.  Mandy Johnson was 5-of-12 from the field with 9-of-10 free throws for a team high 20 points.  The Golden Bears wrap up play in 2008 with a Dec. 29 game at the University of South Dakota.  The game starts at 7:00 pm.