BOX SCORE
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Augustana made a 20-point first-half deficit disappear and picked up an 80-77 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Concordia University, St. Paul Tuesday night in St. Paul, Minn.
Augustana, which won its third straight game, improves to 9-3 (6-2 NSIC). CU falls to 6-7 (3-4 NSIC).
Emily Schulte was instrumental in the come-from-behind victory, scoring a career-high 19 points and hitting four 3-pointers.
Alex Feeney added 19 points and seven rebounds.
Andrea Whitney matched Feeney's rebound total and scored 10 points.
Rachel Hansen netted a game-high 23 points for CU.
The Vikings turned a 20-point deficit in the first half into a 10-point lead with three minutes left. The Golden Bears did close the difference to one point with 11 seconds left, but CU's Mandy Poke missed a pair of free throws with five seconds to go; Augustana then got a pair of free throws from
Shaunteva Ashley with one tick left to seal the win.
Augustana committed just nine turnovers in the win--its second lowest mark of the season.
A second-half surge saw the Vikings shoot 57.1 (16 of 28) percent from the floor. Augustana also drilled eight 3-pointers in the second half.
CU managed a 41-27 rebound advantage.
The Vikings secured just one lead in the first half after hitting the game's opening bucket. From there, though, CU had control of the first 20 minutes.
The Golden Bear lead eventually hit double figures with 8:54 left before intermission off an Anika Whiting bucket to make it 27-16.
CU stretched its advantage to as many as 20 points at the three-minute mark.
Jodi Batzel, Whiting and Tierra Bender each had 10 first-half points for the Golden Bears, who shot 51.6 percent (16 of 31).
Schulte and Feeney both scored seven points for Augustana in the first half.
Sharp shooting from behind the arc in the second half put the Vikings back in the game.
By the 8:56 mark, Augustana had the deficit down to five points at 65-60. From there, the Vikings mounted an 18-3 run to take a 78-68 lead. The effort contained four 3-pointers by Augustana, including a pair of deep makes by Schulte to keep the charge moving.
The Golden Bears nearly regained their lead, however, by scoring the next nine points and making it a 78-77 scenario with 11 seconds left. But Poke's missed free throws deflated CU and allowed the Vikings to hold on for the victory after Ashley nailed her two tries from the charity stripe.
CU made 16 turnovers in the loss, including 10 in the second half as the Vikings were in the midst of their game-winning surge.
Augustana hosts Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth on Saturday and Sunday.
