ST. PAUL, Minn. (Gangelhoff Center) - Concordia University’s Gangelhoff Center has always been a tough place for BSU to play and Friday, the Bemidji State University women’s basketball team again struggled to play its game, dropping the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contest to the Concordia University, St. Paul, 81-65.

CU grabbed a 39-33 advantage on the glass, knocked down six more three-pointers than the Beavers and turned 15 BSU turnovers into 14 points on their way to their 14th win of the season (14-10) and the team’s sixth in NSIC play (6-8).

Sydney Epema (Fr., G, Crookston, Minn.) continued her success in 2009 posting her eighth consecutive double-digit scoring performance with a team-high 16 points draining six of her 13 field goal attempts with a 3-of-6 effort from three-point range in a team-high 35 minutes.

Colleen McKay (So., F, Barnum, Minn.) and Heidi Matzke (Sr., G, Red Lake Falls, Minn.) also had double-digits with 14 and 10 with McKay joining Megan Bates (Fr., F, Brainerd, Minn.) with a team-best six boards in the loss.

CSP’s Kelly Supernaw and Kali Olstad led the Golden Bears attack with 18 points apiece while Candace Olstad and Jamie Jones chipped in 15 and 11 points to round out the double-digit scoring for CU. Shandrell Duncan added a game-high nine rebounds while Zoraa Quoie dished out 10 of CU’s 25 assists.

As the game got underway, the teams battled to separate themselves from the other, even though BSU held the lead for the first 11:17 of the game. Bates got the Beavers started with a three just 24-seconds into the contest, but Kali Olstad tied the game up at 3-3 on CU’s next possession. Epema netted the Beavers next seven points, knocking down two of her three, point buckets during the run to give BSU a 10-6 lead before the 17-minute mark.

BSU pushed its lead to as large as five points (17-12) but a 9-2 run by the Golden Bears capped off by a Kelly Supernaw three gave CU its first lead of the game, 21-19, with 8:20 left in the half. With the score tied for the fourth time in the game at 25-25 with 4:19 left in the half, the Golden Bears went on a 10-6 run to close out the final minutes and take a 35-31 lead into the break.

Although Epema was 5-of-7 from the field for 14 points and the BSU bench came up big for the Beavers in the first half, it was not enough to offset the 23-16 rebounding advantage CU held over BSU.

CU came out of the break on fire as the Golden Bears shot 17-of-30 from the field (.567) and 9-of-14 (.643) from behind the three-point arc to help CU extend its lead to 14 points before the 10-minute mark, eventually increasing its lead to 24 points with 2:39 left in the game, holding onto a 81-65 win over the Beavers.

BSU ended the game shooting 40-percent from the field (24-60), 50-percent (8-16) from behind the three-point arc and 75-percent (9-12) from the free-throw line while their counterparts were 48.4 (31-64) from the floor, 46.7-percent (14-30) from three-point range and 62.5-percent (5-8) from the charity stripe.

The Golden Bears continue to extend its lead over BSU in the all-time series with the win as CU holds a ten game lead, 21-11.

Bemidji State (2-19; 0-14 NSIC) will be back in action Saturday evening when the team travels to St. Cloud State University. The Beavers look to avenge a 76-70, Jan. 10 loss to the Huskies in the 6 p.m. tip off at Hallenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minn.

Bemidji State University, located in Bemidji, Minn., is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

--beavers--