Box Score: CUW 60, BU 42

VIDEO Interview: Head coach Stacey Brunner-Jones

LISLE, Ill. - A first half 3-point barrage and smothering game-long defense led Concordia University Wisconsin to a 60-42 road Northern Athletics Conference women's basketball victory over Benedictine University Saturday afternoon.

The Falcons (3-2, 3-0 NAC) drained a season-best nine 3-pointers (on just 17 attempts) in the win and held the Eagles (2-5, 1-2 NAC) to 24.1 percent from the field in the second half.

Junior Tiffany Hendrickson (Ingleside, Ill.) scored a season-high-tying 15 points on five 3-pointers, all in the first 20 minutes as the Falcons built a 33-22 halftime lead.

Junior Brittany Zietlow (Oak Creek, Wis.) finished with 11 points including three triples, to go along with five rebounds. Senior Kendall Kerns (Stoughton, Wis.) and sophomore Katie Luethe (Oshkosh, Wis.) chipped in 12 points each as the Falcons enjoyed balanced scoring.

BenU was led by Tracey Walsh's 12 points, while Katie Hunzinger finished with six points and 10 rebounds. Kam Haifleigh and Michell Gaede scored nine and eight points, respectively, for the Eagles.

In the second half CUW held BenU to just seven field goals and forced 22 turnovers.

The Eagles got within nine points on several occasions during the final 20 minutes, but BenU had to foul down the stretch to get back into contention. Kerns, Luethe, and Zietlow knocked down 7-of-10 free throw opportunities to build the Falcon lead toward the eventual 18-point margin.

"We were patient against their zone combinations in the first half and were able to get good perimeter shots by playing inside/out," explained head coach Stacey Brunner-Jones. "That turned out to be very important"

CUW returns to the court on Tuesday for a NAC matchup at Alverno College at 7 p.m.