The Charger women's basketball team fell to the #8 Concordia Bulldogs Saturday afternoon in Seward, Nebraska 68-58. A slow start in the second half found the Chargers down by nine heading into the final frame.
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The Cliff started off hot in the first quarter, going on a 9-0 run powered by threes from
Mallie McNair and
Konnor Sudmann. The Bulldogs followed up with a 10-0 run to take a brief one-point lead, until McNair buried another triple to give the Chargers a 12-10 lead with three minutes in the quarter. Baskets from
Rachel Langel and
Payton Slaughter gave BCU a 16-10 lead heading into the second.
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In the final minutes of the second with the scored knotted up 23-23,
Kennedy Benne would score four straight points to give BCU a 27-25 lead. The Bulldogs Taysha Rushton responded with a layup at the end of the half to tie the game 27-27.
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In the third, the Chargers struggled to find the bottom of the net only converting on three field goal attempts in the quarter. The Bulldogs led by as many as 11 and took a nine-point lead heading into the fourth. Benne opened the fourth with a layup to cut the Bulldog lead to seven, but the Bulldogs Sadie Powell responded with a three to push the lead back to double digits. With 7:20 remaining in the contest, Slaughter went one-for-two to cut to 52-46.
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The Bulldogs would go on an 8-0 run to push their lead to 14. The Chargers were unable to string together stops in the final minutes and fell 68-58.
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McNair and Sudmann paced the Chargers with 13 points and four rebounds apiece. Sudmann and Slaughter led the Chargers with five assists apiece. Benne recorded 11 points and two steals while going a perfect seven-for-seven from the charity stripe. Slaughter had a near double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds.
Rachel Langel chipped in nine points and grabbed nine boards in the contest.
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The Chargers move to 12-5 (7-4 GPAC) on the season and will face the #1 team in the country in Dordt on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Sioux Center, Iowa. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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