St. Thomas women beat
Concordia for Riversoâs 300th win"I just didnât want to get stuck at 299," Riverso said. "Thatâs every coachâs fear to get into that position."
St. Thomas senior Kirsten Vipond helped put Riverso at ease, scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to lead the Tommies past Concordia 74-57 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference womenâs basketball.
The triumph was St. Thomasâ 64th in a row against MIAC competition. The Tommies improved to 11-0 overall and 8-0 in the MIAC, while Concordia fell to 7-4 and 5-3.
"Theyâre always tough," said Concordia center Leah Sonstelie. "We always seem to have a little trouble beating them. They do the little things it takes to win. They always play well."
Sonstelie paced the Cobbers with 20 points and six rebounds.
"Sheâs a fabulous player," Riverso said.
St. Thomas took control of the game at the start of the second half, scoring a 13-5 run. Vipond led the surge, accounting for seven points.
"Kirsten has to be our staple here," Riverso said of the all-conference performer. "Sheâs one of the kids who needs to produce when we are being challenged."
Amy Ginsburgâs reverse lay-up capped the spree with 14 minutes, 27 seconds remaining, giving the Tommies a 51-47 edge. Concordia pulled no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
"It was a learning experience for us," said Concordia coach Kathy Wall. "We need to do the little things it takes to win. Weâre a young team and it showed at times. But we had a good effort tonight, it was a very good effort. Thatâs the important thing."
St. Thomas used a 10-0 run early in the game to build a lead it would never relinquish. Three transition buckets highlighted the scoring surge. Wendy Williams capped the streak, converting from the left block with 13:37 left in the first half. The Tommies led 12-6 at that point.
Sonstelieâs strong first-half play kept the Cobbers close. The 6-foot senior scored 10 points in the first on 5-of-6 shooting. She also blocked three shots.
"(Sonstelie) was really focused tonight," Wall said. "She needed to have a good game. We got her good shots because we were patient on offense."
Sonstelie scored six straight points to cut the Tommiesâ lead to 28-25 with 3:50 left in the first. But St. Thomas outscored Concordia by three the rest of the half and held a 38-32 edge after 20 minutes.
St. Thomas post Erin Hempel added 16 points, providing a nice complement to Vipond. The Tommiesâ tandem was a combined 18 of 24 from the field.
"Vipond and Hempel are tough," Sonstelie said. "They have so many moves you donât know how to guard them sometimes."
ST. THOMAS (11-0, 8-0): Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Olson 4-9 7-8 15, Ginsburg 4-7 0-0 8, Halverson 1-1 0-0 2, Newell 2-4 0-0 4, Hayes 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 2-4 0-0 4, Vipond 10-12 3-3 23, Hempel 8-12 0-2 16, Thomes 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 32-55 10-13 74.
CONCORDIA (7-4, 5-3): Kragerud 2-4 0-0 5, Myers 1-4 2-2 4, Vetter 0-5 0-0 0, Jacobson 2-6 0-0 4, Schwichtenberg 0-2 2-2 2, Backer 2-5 2-3 6, Karli 3-4 3-7 9, Spears 2-4 1-2 5, Walla 1-2 0-0 2, Sonstelie 10-15 0-0 20. Totals 23-51 10-16 57.
Halftime: ST 38, CC 32. 3-point goals: ST 0-4 (Miller 0-1, Olson 0-1, Thomes 0-2); CC 1-5 (Kragerud 1-1, Vetter 0-1, Jacobson 0-1, Schwichtenberg 0-2). Rebounds: ST 29 (Vipond 11), CC 28 (Sonstelie 6). Steals: ST 9 (Miller 3), CC 10 (Spears 3). Assists: ST 20 (Miller 8), CC 17 (Vetter 5). Total fouls: ST 13, CC 13. Turnovers: ST 17, CC 19.