Concordia Outplays #1 Minnesota State in 86-77 OT Routing

MANKATO, Minn. - It took an overtime period to seal the 86-77 deal, but Concordia's (20-11) strength in the opening game of the postseason put them solidly over the #1 team in the nation, Minnesota State, Mankato.  The decision is just revenge for the Golden Bears, who were knocked out of postseason play last year by the Mavericks.  The loss for the Minnesota State (26-2) knocks them out of the conference tournament and is just the second loss of the year for the region's top team. The Golden Bears advance to the NSIC Tournament semifinals, where they will play the winner of the Augustana College/Minnesota Duluth game.  The remainder of the tournament will be held on the campus of Winona State, the highest remaining seed.  The Golden Bears will play the second game on Saturday, with the time to be determined. The Golden Bears attacked the Mavericks from all angles in the first half, out-playing the NCAA's third best field goal shooting team with a 53.3% performance.  The Golden Bears sunk 9-of-11 three-pointers to push the margin to as many as ten points, taking 4-of-4 threes from junior Kali Olstad. The Mavericks struggled to get into a rhythm the entire half, shooting an uncharacteristic 37.5% in the period with no player notchig mroe than seven points.  CU, one of the top shot-blocking teams in the NSIC, shut down Minnesota State with five swatted shots in the opening period. Minnesota State finally found a way to shut down Concordia's shooters midway through the second period.  With the lane congested, the Golden Bear offense slowed, but with MSU continuing to throw up bricks, it took until the final minutes for the game to tighten.  The Mavericks finally got a few shots to fall in the last four minutes and managed to tie the game with 35 seconds remaining.  The game went into overtime tied 67-67. Working so hard to make the playoffs combined with the effort it took in keeping up with the Mavericks in their first postseason game, the Golden Bears were not about to let their season end in an overtime period.  Concordia, who put up 23 points in the second period, out-scored the Mavericks 19-10 in the five minutes of overtime play.  The team hit all four of its field goal attempts and Zoraa Quoie put in seven free throws to keep the team playing for another NSIC title. Quoie led the team with 20 points in the game, nine of which came from the free throw line.  She also had seven assists and two steals.  Shandrell Duncan was a huge inside presence for the Golden Bears, scoring 16 points and pulling down 15 rebounds.  She shot 5-of-8 from the field and blocked five shots.  Pacing the CU first half was Kali Olstad, who hit five three-pointers in the game and finished with 15 points, as did her sister Candace Olstad.  The Golden Bears finished with a 44.4% field goal average. Joanne Noreen was the only Maverick to do serious damage to the Golden Bears, finishing the game with 28 points and seven rebounds.  Three other Mavericks scored in double figures.