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ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (1/2/10)-- Concordia opened the new decade by outlasting Bethel 79-75 in double overtime in Arden Hills on Saturday. The Cobbers outscored the Royals 30-26 in the second half to force overtime and then edged BU 11-7 in the second overtime to come away with their third straight victory. Concordia is now 5-3 overall and 401 in the MIAC and in a tie for third place in the league standings.

Concordia started slow as they were playing for the first time since Dec. 12. The three-week layoff helped Bethel stay close to the Cobbers in the opening 20 minutes of play. The 1-7 Royals fell behind by seven points in the final five minutes of the opening half but then used a 13-2 run in the final 4:16 to grab a 34-30 lead at the break.

Bethel (1-7/0-5 MIAC) extended the lead to seven points in the first part of the second half and held a 51-44 lead with 10:32 to play. That's when the Cobbers finally broke out of their scoring malaise and went on an 8-0 run to take a 52-51 lead with 7:27 remaining. From there the game would be tied four more times before the end of regulation. It looked like CC would come away with the win when Lindsey Schultz connected on a traditional 3-point play to give the team a 60-57 edge with 1:05 to play. Bethel then connected on an "and 1" of their own to tie the game at 60-60 with just :02 seconds to play.

The first overtime went back and forth with Concordia grabbing a three-point lead before BU rallied to tie the game in the final minute of play. The game was then settled in the second OT session when the Cobbers went on a 4-0 run to take a 74-70 lead. The Royals would try and counter on three different occasions but each time CC would answer and junior Erica Nord finished the game by draining three consecutive free throws.

The Cobbers shot 41.4% (29-for-70) from the floor and 33.3% (5-for-15) from behind the arc. Bethel connected on 39.3% (24-for-61) of their shots from the field and 26.7% (4-for-15) from 3-point range. BU was able to stay in the game on the strength of their free throw shooting while CC struggled from the foul line. Bethel was 23-for-27 (85.2%) from the line as compared to only 16-for-28 (57.1%) for Concordia.

All five Concordia starters finished in double figures in scoring. The team was led by Nord who had a season-high 21 points. Anna Matetich was the stat stuffer for the Cobbers. Matetich had 13 points to go along with a career-high 13 rebounds and a game-high four steals. It is the second time in her career that she has posted a double-double. Lindsey Schultz was 6-for-11 from the floor and 5-for-8 from the free throw line and finished with 17 points. Sara Sorbo had several key baskets in overtime and came away with 11 points. She also had a game-high four assists. Maggie Bauernfeind added 10 points but struggled to find her shooting touch as she went 5-for-13 from the floor.

Bethel was led by Scotti Moats who had 19 points and Kristi Nye who scored seven points in the overtime periods and came away with 18 total points.

Concordia will stay in the Twin Cities and play at Augsburg on Monday, Jan. 4 at 5:45 p.m.