Split In St. Paul

ST. PAUL, Minn. (1/11/20)--- Sophomore Autumn Thompson scored a career-high 23 points but it wasn't enough as Concordia fell 84-68 at St. Catherine.

The Wildcats were able to make clutch 3-point shots all game long, finished by shooting 50.5 (12-for-24) from long range and made five more long balls than the Cobbers in the 16-point win.

The loss is the first of the week for the Cobbers who beat Macalester earlier in the week in St. Paul. Concordia is now 5-8 in all games and 3-5 in the MIAC. The victory brings St. Kate's even with the Cobbers in the league standings at 3-5. SCU is now 6-7 overall.

St. Kate's found their rhythm from the outside in the very first quarter as they went 5-for-8 from outside the arc in the first 10 minutes of play and bolted to a 26-19 lead at the quarter break. The Cobbers made the first basket of the second quarter to cut the deficit to five points on a layup from Emily Beseman but then SCU countered with a 3-pointer and CC was never able to get to within six points for the rest of the half.

Concordia only trailed by eight points at halftime but then the Wildcats went on a 19-7 run to start the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

Thompson scored 11 of her career-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. She also came up with 15 of the 23 in the second half where she went 3-for-6 from outside the arc. Thompson finished the day by going 5-for-9 from 3-point range and 7-for-12 from the floor. The five made 3-pointers are one shy of her career best which came in this year's season opener against Minn.-Morris.

Elizabeth Birkemeyer and Beseman gave the Cobbers three players with more than 10 points in the game. Birkemeyer was 5-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-7 from the free throw line and had 14 points while Beseman went 6-for-6 from the foul stripe and finished with 13.

Mary Sem and Vanessa Kedl both came up with a game-high five rebounds but Concordia was outrebounded by the Wildcats by a slim 27-25 margin.

Concordia shot 40.8% (20-for-49) from the floor and 31.8% (7-for-22) from outside the arc. CC was also 21-for-26 (80.8%) from the foul line. St. Kate's connected on 47.5% (29-for-61) of their shots from the field.        

INSIDE STAT INFO: Emily Beseman is fifth in the MIAC in free throw percentage this season. She is shooting 79.1% (34-for-43) from the line this year. Beseman has made 11 straight free throws and 17 of her last 18 in a streak that dates back to Nov. 16.

UP NEXT: Concordia will have three days to prepare for Gustavus. The Cobbers will host the No.17-ranked Gusties on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7:15 p.m. The game is part of Youth Night where kids 14 and under will be admitted for free. Gustavus is currently 11-2 overall and 7-1 in the MIAC and is coming off a 74-58 loss at Bethel. 

Saturday recaps sponsored by Bufffalo Wild Wings: Grab your friends and get to B-Dubs on Sunday nights for College Nights at 9 p.m. 50% off 1 food item with ID and $3 apps at the Buffalo Wild Wings located on Hwy 10 in Moorhead.