outscored the Royals 52-18 from inside the "paint" area, and came away with their ninth straight victory. The nine-game winning streak is the longest since the 1992-93 season when the Cobbers won 10 straight. Concordia has now won 12 of their past 13 games.
Mandy Pearson drove her way to 16 points and 12 assists in the game. She led the Cobbers in scoring and her 12 assists is a season-high. With the win, Concordia climbs to 13-3 in conference play and 15-4 overall. The Cobbers stay tied
for third place with Gustavus who downed Hamline 91-49. The much-improved Bethel team slides to 6-10 in the MIAC and 8-11 overall.
The Cobbers started slowly, missing their first seven shots. After trailing 8-4 in the early stages of the game, Concordia went on a 12-0 and never looked back. The Cobbers continued to stretch their lead throughout the half and led 31-20 at the half. Pearson did the majority of the
damage in the opening half for Concordia. She repeatedly broke down the the Bethel defense at the top of the key, drove the lane and dished off to her teammates for open layups. She finished the first 20 minutes of the game with nine assists.
In the second half, Concordia was never able to break away from the Royals. Bethel stayed within 13 points for most of the half, and even cut the margin to eight points at 49-41 with 8:54 left in the game. Pearson continued to knife through the Bethel defense, who tried to stop the Cobbers
from shooting from outside. Concordia only made one 3-point shot in the game, a season low, but were able to find success from in close. Of the Cobbers' 70 points, 52 were scored from within 12 feet of the basket.
The Cobbers shot 44.8% (30-for-67) from the field for the game and were 9-for-12 from the free throw line. Concordia also limited the Royals to under 40% shooting for the game, the eighth straight time the Cobbers have accomplished that feat and 15th time this season. Bethel shot 34.5% (20-for-58) from the floor and 31.3% (5-for-16) from 3-point range.
Jamie Visness was the only other Cobber to score more than nine points. She finished the game with 12 points. She also had five steals, as the Cobbers forced Bethel into 19 turnovers. Beth Drager followed up her eight blocked shot-performance against Macalester with five blocks and four rebounds.
Anna Cunningham was the leading scorer in the game. The Bethel sophomore scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Concordia will play at St. Thomas on Wednesday, February 4 at 5:30pm. The game can be heard live on KVOX 1280AM in the
Fargo-Moorhead area and worldwide over the internet at www.gocobbers.com. The Cobbers beat the Tommies earlier this season and are looking for a series sweep against St. Thomas for the first time since the 1992-93 season.
Newspaper Box Score Bethel College vs Concordia College 02/02/04 5:30 at Concordia College, Moorhead MN At Concordia College, Moorhead MN CONCORDIA COLLEGE 70, BETHEL COLLEGE 54 BETHEL COLLEGE (8-11, 6-10 MIAC) Anna Cunningham 9-15 3-6 21; Emily Uzpen 4-10 0-1 11; Heather Davis 3-11 2-4 9; Jen Ahlberg 3-10 2-3 9; Bridget Weber 1-1 0-0 2; JoLynn Thielke 0-10 2-2 2; Emily Stavem 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 20-58 9-18 54. CONCORDIA COLLEGE (15-4, 13-3 MIAC) Mandy Pearson 7-14 1-1 16; Jamie Visness 6-16 0-0 12; Tori Ehlert 4-5 1-2 9; Karie Visness 3-4 2-3 8; Anne Keeley 2-7 2-2 6; Debbie Slack 2-4 1-2 5; Leanne White 2-4 0-0 4; Breanna Gottenberg 1-2 2-2 4; Beth Drager 2-7 0-0 4; Amanda Levos 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 30-67 9-12 70. Bethel College................ 20 34 - 54 Concordia College............. 31 39 - 70 3-point goals-Bethel College 5-16 (Emily Uzpen 3-6; Heather Davis 1-1; Jen Ahlberg 1-5; JoLynn Thielke 0-4), Concordia College 1-8 (Mandy Pearson 1-3; Jamie Visness 0-3; Anne Keeley 0-1; Breanna Gottenberg 0-1). Fouled out--Bethel College-None, Concordia College-Beth Drager. Rebounds-Bethel College 36 (Anna Cunningham 7), Concordia College 46 (Leanne White 7; Debbie Slack 7). Assists-Bethel College 12 (Beka Cunningham 2; Emily Uzpen 2; JoLynn Thielke 2; Jen Ahlberg 2), Concordia College 17 (Mandy Pearson 12). Total fouls-Bethel College 18, Concordia College 17. A-319