Box Score
The Augustana women's basketball team could not keep up with Concordia University-St. Paul from the 3-point line, as Augie dropped its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference semifinal playoff game 67-58 Saturday night in Winona, Minn.
The No. 4 Vikings drop to 20-9 overall this season with the loss, while the No. 8 Golden Bears move on to play in its third straight NSIC tournament championship Sunday with 21-11 record.
The 3-point line played a predominant role in the first half, as the Vikings ended the half with more field goals than the Golden Bears after a buzzer-beater from
Kristi Board, but entered halftime down 35-28.
The Golden Bears started the game a sizzling 6-for-7 from the 3-point line, but the Vikings countered with a dominant inside game early with 12 points in the paint, as Concordia led 22-18 11:39 into the game.
From that point Concordia went cold from beyond the arc, as Augustana sat in a zone defense, but scored from the inside to keep the pressure on Augie to take its largest lead of the half at 33-24 with 5:06 remaining in the half.
The Vikings ended the first half 13-of-37 from the field and Concordia went 12-of-34, but Augie went 0-9 from the 3-point line. Concordia dropped 7 shots from beyond the arc after making a NSIC tournament record 13 3-pointers against No. 1 Minnesota State on Wednesday.
After battling back and forth for the first part of the second half, the Vikings put together a short run to get to within a basket at 47-45 with 10:16 to go in the game, but Concordia's Jamie Jones scored 7 straight points in :45 to give the Golden Bears a 57-47 lead at the 8:46 mark.
Again, Augie got within striking distance after
Amy Puthoff made the only 3-pointer of the game with 4:13 left in the game to make it a 61-56 game, but the Golden Bears again did not let Augie get any closer, holding the Vikings to just two more points the rest of the game.
Augustana finished the night shooting 34 percent on 23-of-68 shooting, while going 11-of-12 from the free throw line. Concordia ended the night shooting 39 percent on 23-of-68 shooting.
Dani Arens had a big night in the paint for Augustana, recording her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting.
Puthoff finished the night with a team-high 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while grabbing 9 rebounds.
Whitney Hofer also scored in double figures with 12 points and added 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Jones scored a game-high 19 points for the Golden Bears, while Zoraa Quoie made 3-of-4 from beyond the arc to finish the night with 14 points.
Concordia moves on to play St. Cloud State in the NSIC championship at 2 p.m. Sunday in Winona, while Augustana will wait for the regional pairings to come out at 8 p.m. Sunday night.
The top eight teams in the region go to the NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament next weekend and Augustana is currently No. 7.
