Cavs Fall to Black Hills State in NAIA Tourney
BOX SCORE
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Concordia University's season came to an end in the opening round of the 2011 NAIA Division II National Tournament as the six-seeded Cavaliers fell to third-seeded Black Hills State 66-59 Thursday afternoon at Tyson Events Center.
Concordia ends the 2010-11 season with a 24-10 overall record. The Cavaliers earned the school's second bid to the NAIA Tournament after splitting the Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season championship with a 13-5 record and winning the CCC Tournament.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to an early double-digit lead at 13-2, and a three-pointer following a Danielle Clauson (Edmonds, Wash./Kings H.S.) basket gave BHSU its largest lead of the half at 16-4. Concordia played Black Hills State even the rest of the half, pulling to within seven points at 23-16 before a pair of late threes pushed the lead back to double-digits, holding a 35-25 advantage at halftime.
Black Hills State connected on seven of 13 attempts from beyond the arc in the opening half and sank 45.8 percent (11-of-24) of their shots from the field in the period. Keely Krolikowski led the way with 14 points, including three of the Yellow Jackets' treys. The Cavaliers struggled shooting in the half, making only 32.0 percent (8-of-25) of their shot attempts.
The Cavaliers came out strong to open the second half, scoring the first six points of the period to pull within four points. Black Hills responded with a pair of baskets to stretch the lead back to eight points, but the Cavaliers would not go away in the second half as the Yellow Jackets did not lead by more than eight points the rest of the way.
Clauson's layup with just over nine minutes remaining pulled CU to within three at 48-45, the closes the Cavs had been since the opening minutes of the contest. Concordia stayed tight the rest of the way, hanging within two possessions of BHSU until a pair of free throws in the closing seconds gave the Yellow Jacket's the seven-point advantage with the 66-59 final score
Free throws played a key role late in the game, as Black Hills State made its shots down the stretch as the Cavaliers missed several shots at the charity stripe in the deciding minutes, preventing CU from pulling any closer than three back. Concordia connected on only four of nine free throw attempts in the second period, while BHSU made 15 of 20 at the line to seal the victory and advance to the second round.
Clauson finished her Concordia career with a double-double in her final game, leading CU with 19 points and 13 rebounds. She also contributed three steals, three assists and two blocks for the Cavaliers, and her 19 points gave her a season total of 664, the second-highest single-season total in CU history.
Rachel Scarpelli (Troutdale, Ore./Reynolds, H.S.) was the only other Cavalier to tally double-digits in the scoring column, finishing with 12 points in 29 minutes of play. Sarah Eischen (Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro H.S.), one of two seniors on the CU squad along with Clauson, was limited by foul trouble in the contest but contributed two blocks and four rebounds in her final game in a Cavalier uniform.
Krolikowsky finished the game with 23 points to lead both teams, while Katelynn Lamb added 16 for the Yellow Jackets. Both teams struggled from the field in the game, as Black Hills State shot 38.0 percent (19-of-50) and Concordia 37.3 percent (22-of-59) from the field.