Cold Day In January For CU Basketball

ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Concordia women's basketball team (11-4, 3-2 NSIC) had an icy start to the 2009 NSIC schedule, falling 58-67 to St. Cloud State (11-1, 4-1 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Bears shot 34.9% from the field and, despite pulling to within two points in the second half, trailed the majority of the game against the Huskies. The game separated the two teams from second place in the league standings. The Golden Bears outplayed St. Cloud State in the opening minutes of the game, hitting shots from the line and the field to go up 14-9. A cool streak followed in the next seven minutes as Concordia hit only one field goal while the Huskies were virtually unstoppable. St. Cloud State was steeled by the play of Talisha Barlow as the Huskies took the lead and a 25-16 edge. 11 first half turnovers resulted in 19 St. Cloud State points. The Golden Bears hit only 26.7% of their shots in the first half. They out-played the Huskies on the glass 22-20, but second chances gained on offense went largely unnoticed with the low shooting average. Concordia once again showed strong play in the opening minutes of the second period. Shots found the bucket and Kali Olstad closed out a 12-4 run that put the game at one possession with SCSU leading 37-35. The hard work of the Golden Bears was reversed as the Huskies answered with a 13 of the next 17 points to push the margin back to double figures. Candace Olstad was 4-of-5 from the field in the second half with 10 of her final 14 points in the last 20 minutes. She was the only player to score in double figures in improved half, however. The Golden Bears were unable to rebound from the final Husky run and took the 67-58 loss. Kali Olstad hit four three-pointers in the game on her way to 12 points. Also scoring 12 was Shandrell Duncan and Jamie Jones. Duncan had an impressive game on the glass, leading the team with nine boards. The Golden Bears warmed up to 42.4% shooting in the final period to set the game mark at 34.9%. They finished with 42 rebounds to SCSU's 43. Barlow was the top scorer in the SCSU win, nailing 9-of-17 shots from the field for 24 points. She also had six rebounds. Guard Katie Tacheny was 5-of-10 from the field for 17 points. The Huskies shot 41.0% from the field. Concordia continues play on the road next weekend, traveling to Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth for a set of 6:00 pm games.