SEWARD — NAIA Division II's top-ranked Morningside College squeezed, squished and squashed any idea of Concordia University escaping with an upset in one of the most anticipated women's basketball games of the season.

Morningside, the defending NAIA national champions, forced 30 turnovers and counted on dazzling outside shooting to stop No. 4  Concordia 82-67 Tuesday night before 500 fans at Concordia.

"It's been a long time," Concordia coach Todd Voss answered when asked the last time his team had 30 turnovers in a game. "You can't expect to win against any team, especially a very good team like Morningside when you shoot yourself in the foot and take away the chance to win."

Still, Concordia, 16-2 overall and 8-1 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, managed to strike some fear into the Mustangs in the final minutes of the game.

Concordia held Morningside's two leading scorers, Brittany Carper and Megan Cloud, to a total of two field goals in the first half and 26 points for the game — 11 points less than their combined averages.

"Two of our best players did not have great games, but a lot of other people picked up the pace," Morningside coach Jaime Sale said. "We got a little panicked at the end, but we reminded the girls this is why you come to play, to have fun and play in games like this."

Concordia closed to 63-57 with 4:34 left when Sarah Harrison scored on a three-point play. But Morningside rattled in seven unanswered points, then hit 12-of-16 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win.

The Bulldogs struggled to compile any offense in the first half.

Morningside (18-1, 9-0 GPAC) sped to a 17-10 lead with 9:06 left in the first half. Concordia hit just 4-for-10 from the field and had 15 turnovers in the first 11 minutes of the game.

"We run a weird defense, and it takes some time to get used to it and that may have helped our cause," Sale said.

Concordia trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and did not close the gap until Keyna Kobza, who scored 16 points, hit a three-point shot with 6:48 left to cut the score to 63-52. Kari Saving, who scored 11 points, scored on an offensive rebound and teammate Sarah Harrison, who scored 14, completed a three-point play before the Mustangs pulled away.

"We never did get enough shots inside, shots for Harrison, and we did get back in the game some because we were a little stronger with the ball," Voss said. "Too often in the first half we would lose the ball on a deflection or a soft pass, and we just had to be stronger about that.

"We were not intimidated and I think we all looked forward to playing Morningside. They're deeper than they were a year ago, and I think their top two (Carper and Cloud) are just as good, and the other three starters are better than their national championship team."

Sale agreed that his team was better than a year ago.

"We're better defensively, and I think we're a little deeper," he said. "We'll see. We've got a huge win here on the road, but we have to see Hastings, Doane and Concordia again before its all over."

Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or at khambleton@journalstar.com.