ST. PAUL, Minn. – No. 17 nationally-ranked Concordia-St. Paul saw junior forward Lauren Wilson tie her season and career-high of 34 points, handing Michigan Tech its first loss of the season in a 78-61 decision at the Gangelhoff Center on Friday night.
For the third-straight game, Michigan Tech (4-1) was led in scoring by Ella Mason with 18 points on 50 percent from the field and a perfect four-for-four from the free-throw line. Alyssa Wypych netted her third double-figure scoring game of the season with 10 points and a team-leading five boards as Dani Nuest scored a season-high nine points off the bench.
"I was disappointed with our lack of focus and defensive execution today," said Tech head coach Sam Clayton. "Concordia is too good of a team and made us pay for every mistake. We'll have to learn from it quickly and bounce back tomorrow."
Concordia-St. Paul (4-2, 0-1 NSIC) knocked down its first three shots and forced three MTU turnovers in the opening 3 minutes to jump out to an 8-2 advantage.
Back-to-back jumpers by Mason made it a one-point game before Avery Moeller recorded her first 3-pointer of the game and the team's third (13-9), shooting 50 percent heading into the media timeout with 4:13 to play.
The two teams traded baskets down the stretch, with CSP making separation off five 3-pointers in the period compared to two by Michigan Tech.
The Huskies shot 72.7 percent from the field in the first quarter, led by Mason with nine points on four-for-five shooting. However, the Black & Gold coughed up the ball six times and allowed five 3-pointers to the Golden Bears, who led from tipoff and had a lead of six-points three times in the quarter.
Lauren Wilson was the difference maker in the second quarter, scoring 17 of the team's 26 points, with back-to-back 3-pointers to end the half with the largest lead of the game at 47-36. The Huskies took their first lead of the day early in the quarter with a basket by Janie Tormanen, making it 24-23.
The Golden Bears caused three more turnovers and went five-for-eight from the charity stripe, with a 14-7 run from the 3:22 mark, giving the home team separation with nine points coming from Wilson.
Nuest hit two 3-pointers and a foul shot in the first half as Mason led the way with 13 points while hitting all four of her free throws, as Tormanen added six points.
The largest lead of the second half came with 4:16 to go with Wilson connecting on another basket made while drawing the foul to make it 60-46 and show her point total swell to 27. Concordia-St. Paul took advantage of foul trouble by the Huskies, connecting on seven of 12 free throw attempts in the third quarter.
Wypych hit two 3-pointers in the quarter as Mason contributed five points and Soraya Timms banked home a 3-pointer as time expired, heading into the final quarter of play, trailing 67-54.
Eight unanswered points by the Black & Gold, capped by a 3-pointer by Kendall Standest at the 9:19 mark, made it a single-digit deficit for the first time since early in the third quarter.
However, the Golden Bears would maintain a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, with the lead swelling to as much as 17 points by the conclusion of the game.
Maja Kozlowska played a season-high 17 minutes accruing five rebounds and four points, as Mason and Timms produced a team-leading three assists.
Leah Dengerud (12) and Moeller (11) also reached double-figure scoring behind a double-double of 34 points and 13 rebounds by Wilson. Lydia Haack neared a triple-double with eight points, ten assists and nine rebounds.
Up Next
The Huskies are back in action Saturday against NSIC affiliate Winona State, slated for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff.
