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ST. PAUL, Minn. (12/02/09)-- For the second straight year Concordia opened the MIAC season by posting an eye-opening win at St. Thomas. On Wednesday, the Cobbers outscored the Tommies 40-21 in the second half and cruised to a 63-45 win. The win is even more impressive considering that UST was an overwhelming favorite to win the MIAC in the annual preseason coaches poll.

The victory snaps the Cobbers' two-game losing streak and evens their overall record at 2-2. St. Thomas loses for the first time this season as they fall to 3-1.

The first half of the game was a back-and-forth affair as the two teams traded runs and leads. In the opening 20 minutes of play there were four lead changes and three tie scores. The Cobbers had runs of 6-2, 7-0 and 8-0 while the Tommies had runs of 9-2 and 9-0. St. Thomas' final 9-0 run in the last 2:09 of the first period propelled them to a 24-23 lead at the break after Concordia had taken an eight-point lead at 23-15 lead.

The second half was all Concordia. The Cobbers scored the first seven points of the period and then built a 15-point lead half way through the final half by outscoring UST 25-9. CC never allowed the Tommies to make a run to get back into the game as they limited St. Thomas to only 23.3% (7-for-30) from the floor in the final 20 minutes of play.

Playing without an experienced post player, the Cobbers used the team principle to come away with the double-digit win. Concordia had three players score in double figures, had five players score at least seven points and had 10 players score at least two points. The Cobbers also used the team aspect on the boards as they had five players with at least five rebounds in the game. On the opposite side of the stat sheet, UST had only one player in double figures, three players with seven or more points and three players with at least five rebounds.

CC didn't have an outstanding shooting night. They were 21-for-62 (33.9%) from the floor and 6-for-22 (27.3%) from 3-point range. The two big statistical differences in the game came in rebounding and points off of turnovers. The undersized Cobbers outrebounded the Tommies 48-40 and had a 25-7 edge in points off of turnovers. UST committed 24 turnovers as compared to 19 for CC.

Maggie Bauernfeind led the Cobbers in scoring for the fourth straight game. She was 4-for-10 from the floor and a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line and finished with a game-high 15 points. Erica Nord had another monster stat stuffer. She scored a season-high 11 points, came away with five rebounds, added four assists and recorded seven steals. She has now had at least five rebounds in all four games this season. Senior guard Anna Matetich was the final member of the Cobbers to score in double figures. She went 2-for-4 from behind the arc, scored eight timely points in the decisive second half and finished with 10 for the night. She also had a season-high seven rebounds. Lindsey Schultz also had seven rebounds in the game while Sara Sorbo came away with five rebounds. CC also received huge contributions from post player Ali Demmer and sophomore Carolyn Smith. Both players had seven points in the game while Demmer added three rebounds and Smith chipped two assists.

Concordia will stay on the road as they continue their annual Christmas Concert road trip. CC will play at Gustavus on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 1 p.m.