Solid game plan lifts Cobbers over Royals
By Eric Peterson
The Forum
1/22/98
Concordia applied a simple game plan in its game against Bethel Wednesday night - play solid defense and complement it with balanced offense.
It worked to perfection.
The Cobbers held the Royals to 27-percent shooting from the field and put five scorers in double figures, breezing to an 85-41 victory in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball at Concordia's Memorial Auditorium.
"We played tough defense and that's what we need to do," said Concordia forward Sara Spears. "We did a good job of setting the tone for the game."
Concordia set the tone early, embarking on an 11-0 run just 3 minutes, 25 seconds into the game. Freshman Rebecca Karli capped the surge with a driving bucket down the left side of the lane. Karli's hoop staked Concordia to a 13-2 lead.
The Cobbers never looked back.
Leah Sonstelie fueled Concordia's early success, scoring the Cobbers' first six points of the game. The 6-foot senior finished with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Spears paced the Cobbers with a game-high 16 points and eight rebounds.
"We moved the ball around real well," Sonstelie said. "I think the outside players did a good job of hitting their shots and opening it up for the posts."
Concordia held MIAC leading scorer Beth Johnson to six points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field. Johnson was averaging 20.4 points entering the contest.
"We focused on Beth Johnson, who's an incredible player and took her out of the game," said Concordia coach Kathy Wall. "We always had some fresh legs on her. We knew she was good going to her left so we wanted to keep her going right. We did a good job of help defense; she didn't get a lot of good looks."
The Cobbers continued to pad their lead throughout the contest, cashing in with scoring runs of 11, 9 and 9 straight points. A pair of Spears foul shots with 2:47 left in the game increased Concordia's lead to 85-35, its largest advantage of the game.
The Cobbers improved to 10-4 overall and 8-3 in the MIAC, while Bethel fell to 5-9 and 4-7. Concordia faces a stiff test Saturday when it hosts undefeated and league-leading St. Benedict.
"(St. Benedict's) post players are pretty dominant," Wall said. "We'll need to mix it up defensively and not be intimidated to take it at their size and strength inside."
BETHEL (5-9 overall, 4-7 MIAC): Mulder 0-4 2-2 2, B. Johnson 2-10 1-3 6, Kasper 0-1 1-2 1, Solvie 2-10 1-2 5, Jacobs 1-7 2-2 4, Anderson 4-10 0-1 8, H. Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Ritland 4-6 4-6 12, Wickman 0-1 1-2 1, Carlson 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 14-52 12-22 41.
CONCORDIA (10-4, 8-3): Kragerud 0-2 0-0 0, Cropp 0-1 0-1 0, Tank 2-2 0-0 4, Myers 2-4 0-0 5, Vetter 4-4 2-2 11, Jacobson 1-7 0-0 3, Schwichtenberg 4-7 0-0 10, Backer 1-2 1-2 4, Karli 3-7 2-2 8, Spears 5-7 6-7 16, Walla 4-12 2-2 10, Sonstelie 7-9 0-0 14. Totals 33-64 13-16 85.
Halftime: Concordia 40, Bethel 16. 3-point goals: Bethel 1-8 (Mulder 0-1, B. Johnson 1-6, H. Johnson 0-1), Concordia 6-9 (Kragerud 0-1, Myers 1-1, Vetter 1-1, Jacobson 1-2, Schwichtenberg 2-3, Backer 1-1). Fouled out: B. Johnson. Rebounds: Bethel 33 (Anderson 7), Concordia 47 (Spears 8). Steals: Bethel 11 (Mulder 4, Solvie 4), Concordia 13 (Myers 4). Assists: Bethel 5 (B. Johnson 2), Concordia 25 (Vetter 6, Jacobson 6). Total fouls: Bethel 17, Concordia 18. Turnovers: Bethel 24, Concordia 17. A-NA.