The Blazers entered the game ranked 18th in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, riding an eight-game winning streak and having not lost on the road all season. That all came to a crashing halt as Pearson was the leading actress, supporting actress and chief monster in the Blazers' nightmare on 8th Street. The Cobbers have now beaten St. Ben's in three of the past four meetings between the two teams.
With the win, Concordia remains in a tie for third place with Gustavus at 8-3 in league play. They are now 10-4 overall, marking the 31st consecutive season that the Cobbers have recorded at least 10 wins in a season. The Blazers fall for only the second time all season. They are now 9-2 in league play and 12-2 overall.
The game was decided the moment that Pearson stepped on the court. She instantly seized control of the game and never let up on her strangle-hold the entire 40 minutes. She helped the Cobbers grab their first lead of the game at 16-15 when she canned her first 3-point attempt of the game. She then led Concordia on a 24-14 run over the course of the final 10 minutes of the half to stake the Cobbers to a 44-34 lead at the break.
In the opening 20 minutes of play, she scored 19 points, recorded five assists and was 7-of-9 from the floor - including 3-of-3 from behind the arc.
She cooled off her point-per-minute scoring pace in the second half. However, when the team needed her to take care of the ball the most, she came through with flying colors. She did not commit a single turnover in the final 20 minutes of play and added three steals and three assists.
In the second half, St. Ben's made one decisive run to try and steal the victory away from Pearson and the Cobbers. The Blazers outscored Concordia 18-7 in a seven-minute span that cut a 71-55 lead with 8:24 remaining, to a 78-73 lead with 1:23 to go in the game. Pearson then stuck four straight daggers into the comeback heart of the Blazers. She sank two foul shots to push the lead to 80-73 and then calmly sank two more with 22 seconds left to make the final score 83-75.
Three other Cobber players scored in double figures and helped Concordia extinguish the Blazers eight-game winning streak. Annie Keeley (So., Grafton, N.D.) scored 15 points , was 5-of-8 from the floor and made all four foul shots. Melanie Hageman (Fr., Fargo, N.D.) did a tremendous job in attacking the much-taller Blazer post players. She finished with 13 points. Finally, Tori Ehlert (Jr., Battle Lake, Minn.) was able to neutralize the St. Ben's superior inside attack and came away with 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.
MIAC leading scorer Anna Heikenen lived up to her pre-game billing as she posted a team-high 21 points. In a night that belonged to Concordia, Kim Johnson provided the one bright spot for St. Ben's. The senior scored 11 points and became the 15th player in Blazer history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Her jumper with 18:53 left in the second half pushed her game total to nine points and carried her to 1,001 career points.
Statistically, St. Ben's was a study in contrasts. The Blazers shot 60.7% in the second half but were victimized by 13 turnovers. They committed a costly 28 turnovers in the game. The Cobbers also held a superior edge at the foul line. Concordia went 22-of-25 (88.0%) from the free throw line, while St. Ben's only hit on 10-of-16 (62.5%) free throw attempts.
Concordia will now host Gustavus on Wednesday, January 26 at 7:00pm as they churn through the middle of a five-game homestand. The game can be heard live on 1280AM "The Fan" radio in the Fargo-Moorhead area and via the internet at www.gocobbers.com.
Newspaper Box Score College of St. Benedict vs Concordia College 01/24/05 5:30 at Moorhead, MN/Memorial Auditorium At Moorhead, MN/Memorial Auditorium CONCORDIA COLLEGE 83, COLLEGE OF ST. BENEDICT 75 COLLEGE OF ST. BENEDICT (9-2 MIAC/12-2) Anna Heikenen 8-13 5-7 21; Kim Johnson 5-8 1-1 11; Darby Noreen 3-4 1-4 9; Katie Kempe 3-5 0-0 8; Angela Merkling 3-8 0-0 7; Tara Schloe 3-3 1-2 7; Ellie Boone 3-3 0-0 6; Jen Dalhed 2-6 2-2 6; Justine Richels 0-2 0-0 0; Judy Falvey 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 30-54 10-16 75. CONCORDIA COLLEGE (8-3 MIAC/10-4) Mandy Pearson 8-13 12-12 31; Anne Keeley 5-8 4-4 15; Melanie Hageman 5-6 3-3 13; Tori Ehlert 4-7 1-2 10; Amanda Levos 3-6 0-0 6; Jamie Visness 1-4 1-2 3; Karie Visness 1-5 0-0 2; Leanne White 1-1 0-0 2; Jessica Heintz 0-1 1-2 1; Christina Aarestad 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-53 22-25 83. College of St. Benedict....... 34 41 - 75 Concordia College............. 44 39 - 83 3-point goals-College of St. Benedict 5-18 (Katie Kempe 2-4; Darby Noreen 2-3; Angela Merkling 1-6; Jen Dalhed 0-2; Justine Richels 0-2; Anna Heikenen 0-1), Concordia College 5-7 (Mandy Pearson 3-3; Anne Keeley 1-1; Tori Ehlert 1-1; Jamie Visness 0-1; Karie Visness 0-1). Fouled out--College of St. Benedict-None, Concordia College-None. Rebounds-College of St. Benedict 30 (Kim Johnson 8), Concordia College 19 (Tori Ehlert 6). Assists-College of St. Benedict 15 (Jen Dalhed 4; Kim Johnson 4), Concordia College 19 (Mandy Pearson 8). Total fouls-College of St. Benedict 17, Concordia College 15. A-343