After leaving Hamline I was able to make my way easily over to the other side of I-94 to get to Concordia St. Paul to take in the 4 P.M. clash between visiting Bemidji State and host Concordia St. Paul in this important NSIC match-up. The Golden Bears remained atop the NSIC South standings but have Minnesota State, Augustana, and Winona State on their heels while the Beavers have been going through a downer of a year in a competitive NSIC North.
However, Bemidji State showed early on that they were more than ready for the challenge as they came out firing in the first half. After junior post Kate Warmack gave the Beavers an early 2-0 lead, senior guard Shannon Thompson who hails from Rosemount nailed a "3" at the 19:10 mark. Versatile sophomore forward Anika Whiting would at least get the Golden Bears untracked when she got into the paint for a score at the 18:56 mark but the Beavers continued to make life miserable early on for their hosts. Leading 9-6 after Warmack knocked down two free throws at the 16:32 mark, speedy junior guard Lanae Rash made a tough drive and a long lay-up off the glass count at the 16:05 mark for an 11-6 Beaver lead and junior guard Morgan Lee kept the lead at five with her jumper off the glass at the 15:32 mark and a 13-8 advantage. After junior forward Jessie Althoff's score inside kept the advantage at five at the 14:54 mark for a 15-10 lead, the Golden Bears were finally able to creep a little closer as lanky athletic guard Rachel Hansen made a sweet drive and finish at the 14:13 mark and then finally tied the issue at 15 a piece when Whiting connected with a "3" from the left top area at the 13:19 mark.
Bemidji State, however, would regain the advantage. Lee knocked down a "3" from the left corner at the 11:58 mark and then sophomore reserve guard Allison McKee did the same from the opposite corner with 9:16 left and a 24-18 Beaver lead. Junior guard Carissa Wolyniec would answer for the Golden Bears with her "3" from the left wing at the 9:02 mark but lanky sophomore reserve Melissa Youngblut would give the Beavers a five point lead once more with 8:36 left with two free throws before the Golden Bears finally found themselves. With an oft-mercurial Head Coach Paul Fessler admonishing his team (and the game officials), Concordia St. Paul responded. Freshman forward Kionda Nicks put down a turnaround shot with 6:23 left and then made good on two chances from the charity stripe with 5:42 left. After withstanding a jumper from the top by Bemidji State's Althoff, Nicks then was able to get into the paint for a score with 4:43 left and then gave the Golden Bears the lead with a shot in the lane with 4:07 left. After Bemidji State briefly took the lead back with two freebies by Lee, freshman Jasmine Haynes took it right back for the Golden Bears with her "3" from the right wing with 2:42 left - and they would never let it go again. Hansen was also able to get a lay-up with 1:50 left which enabled Concordia St. Paul to eventually take a 37-32 lead into the locker room at the half.
But Bemidji State looked gamey and wily enough, in the opening part of the second half however, to make this dangerous for NSIC South leader Concordia St. Paul. Nicks' turnaround shot at the 19:33 mark did expand the Golden Bears lead to 39-32 but Warmack's offensive rebound of a missed shot and putback at the 19:17 mark and then a score in the paint with a foul by Nicks and the obligatory freebie cut the Concordia St. Paul lead down to 39-37. Hansen did score inside for the Golden Bears at the 17:58 mark but then Thompson's "3' from the left wing on the ensuing possession at the 17:42 mark suddenly brought the Beavers to within one at 41-40 and the underdog Bemidji State team had reason to believe.
Only problem, though, was that somebody forgot to tell the hosts to cooperate as the Golden Bears clamped down ferociously on defense from that point and showed why they can be a force to be contended with on the national stage. Whiting connected with a turnaround jumper at the 17:22 mark and then it was Hansen, the former Minnehaha Academy star, going coast to coast for a lay-up and getting fouled in the process that, along with the obligatory free throw, made it a 46-40 ballgame. Whiting then connected from near the top with a jumper at the 15:58 mark that made it a 48-40 game and Bemidji State Head Coach Mike Curfman realized he'd better call a halt to the action to keep the floodgates from opening up. Unfortunately, it didn't to much to stop the water as the Golden Bears kept right on a-comin'. And, not only that, they had a 6-1 advantage in the fouls and would be in the bonus after the next one. By the 11:16 mark, Concordia St. Paul was in the double-bonus which effectively extinguished the Beaver crusade as they went into a Dust Bowl-esque dry spell from the perimeter in this 17-2 run by the Golden Bears was the difference maker that made it a 58-42 game by the 10:51 mark. Bemidji State did have brief flickers of life coming down the home stretch - a lay-up by Rash at the 10:08 mark and then a jumper by Althoff with 9:35 left were there but didn't do much to offset the deficit and only underscored their 22.58% FG shooting in the second half; even icier was their 1-8 from three-point land for a frigid 12.50%. The Golden Bears would win this one by a convincing 76-57 margin and afterward, Fessler confided that his team really needed to up the intensity on defense coming into the second half. "We didn't even follow our own scouting reports" admitted Fessler afterward and we needed to get out on their shooters (which they did). Hansen echoed the same sentiments afterward and her ability to get up and down the floor is a big reason why the Golden Bears can be so tough on defense at times - they just smother you it seems like. With the win, the Golden Bears remain atop the NSIC South and a favorable slate of games to round out the regular season should at least allow them to host their first-round conference tournament game and possibly thereafter as well.
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