INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – Concordia (Calif.) went on a 21-4 run mid-way through the first half Thursday night en route to a 59-48 victory over Carroll College in the first round of the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship at the Independence Events Center just outside of Kansas City.
 
Both teams struggled early but the saints couldn't get things going offensively in the first half. The Saints trailed 7-9 after a shot by Cassidy Hashley with 12:48 left in the first half before the Eagles hit an offensive explosion.
 
The run turned a two-point Concordia lead to a 30-11 Eagle advantage with just over three minutes left in the first half.
 
"I think we got the shots we wanted," Head Coach Rachelle Sayers said. "I think it was that span of time with 10 minutes to go in the first half that really hurt us."
 
Carroll struggled to get the ball into the hoop and were just 8-of-31 (.258) from the field in the first half.
 
"Their length really got to us," Sayers said. "We had two or three really open layups that they closed on really quick and blocked. We haven't played against that length this whole season except for maybe in our D-I exhibition games."
 
The biggest bright spot for Carroll was Hashley. The freshman post had a team-high 12 points in the first half and ended the game with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
 
"She is a great player, her teammates trust her and I think they did a really good job of getting her the ball," Sayers said. "She went after it tonight, she got going early and when she does that she is hard to stop. A lot of times in our league they will double team her but tonight they thought that their size could handle her and Cassie took it to them. She is crafty around the rim and we are excited to that we have three more years with her."
 
The Saints cut the Concordia lead to 32-17 at the half. After the break the Saints began to chip away at the Concordia lead. A pair of free throws by Hashley with 9:40 left cut the deficit to 39-32 but that is as close as the Saints would come.
 
The Eagles went over four minutes without scoring but the Saints scored only cut into the lead by three points during that span.
 
"It is tough because I thought that we were playing really well during that span," Sayers said. "When you're doing all the right things and the shots aren't falling, there's not much you can do. I thought the kids played hard and they executed the game plan, but unfortunately we fell a few shots short."
 
Concordia again found their grove and built the lead back to 58-41 and held on for the 59-48 win.
 
Along with Hashley's double-double, Kalee Junkermier scored 10 points but no other Saint player scored more than seven points.
 
Jasmine Crawford scored 20 points to lead Concordia, Janis Peterson added 14 points and Brittany Stafford scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Eagles.
 
Concordia outrebounded the Saints 47-48 and was 21-of-61 (.344) from the field compared to 16-of-56 (.286) for the Saints.
 
The Saints end the season with an 18-11 record and the second trip to the NAIA National Championships in three years.