LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The Concordia College women's basketball team kicked off their 2016-17 season on Saturday afternoon with a non-conference game against #1 Bentley in a neutral site game at Georgian Court University. The Clippers would keep pace for the first half, but in the end the Falcons would take a 76-49 victory.
Concordia began the game with a 5-2 lead in the first quarter as Bentley used a 10-0 run to hold a 12-5 advantage. The Clippers ended the period with a 12-4 run to hold a 17-16 after 10 minutes of play.
In the second quarter Concordia would knock down a three-point basket to have a four point lead and with 4:26 to go in the period would extend their advantage to 27-20. The Falcons would hold the Clippers scoreless for the remainder of the quarter as Bentley scored 11 unanswered points to take a 31-27 lead into halftime.
The Falcons began the third quarter with 12 straight points as Concordia trailed 43-27 with 6:34 to go in the period. The Clippers broke their scoreless drought with a three-point basket at the 6:18 mark and cut their deficit to 14 points at 52-38 with 1:34 remaining in the quarter. Bentley scored the last two points of the period as the Falcons held a 54-38 lead going into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter Concordia began with an 8-6 run to spark their offense. The Falcons would then use a 10-2 run to hold a 70-48 lead with under four minutes to go in the game as the Clippers were unable to mount a late comeback. Bentley ended the game with six straight points to take a 76-49 win.
Juniors Julianne Wilkinson (Red Hook, N.Y.) and Lyric Blanch (Kingston, N.Y.) both scored 13 points for Concordia as junior Hadiyah Black (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.
The Clippers (0-1) will remain in Lakewood for another non-conference game against Merrimack tomorrow afternoon. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. as fans unable to attend can follow the action by clicking on the live stats and video links under the women's basketball schedule page on ConcordiaClippers.com.