Junior post Savannah Weidauer nearly led the Chadron State College women’s basketball team back from a 16-point third-quarter deficit, but the Cavaliers held off the Eagles down the stretch and prevailed 65-60 on a neutral court in Billings on Thursday evening.

Weidauer was 5-of-7 for 11 points and grabbed six rebounds in the final 10 minutes of play, coming off the bench. She finished with 15 points and eight boards.

“We made some breakthroughs,” said CSC Head Coach Janet Raymer. “It was a breakout night for Savannah. Prior to this game she wasn’t looking at the basket. So, our focus this week was to make something happen inside. Kendra [Baucom] stepped up last weekend, and now Savannah is coming into her own. It’s a good problem to have.”

The Eagles held Concordia under 30 percent shooting in the first half. Nevertheless, Coach Raymer commented that she was surprised to go into the half down only four, because of the opponents’ 10-2 advantage on the offensive glass, and the Eagles’ 13-4 turnover deficit.

A 14-2 run by the Cavaliers gave them their largest lead of the game at 5:32 in the third, before Kalli Feddersen, who led the team with 20 points, nailed three straight three-point attempts and added a layup for 11 points in under three minutes. Weidauer also put down a pair of free throws in the rally, and the Eagles went into the fourth down only six.

Feddersen hit her fourth straight three early on, and Weidauer took over in the last period, but Abby Aplaca of Concordia put forth her own breakout performance hitting 4-of-4 field goals in the quarter and holding off the Eagles, who shot over 40 percent as a team in the second half.

“We played them tough,” said Raymer. “We got better, for sure. They’re a good team with a lot of big kids. They have some really good athletic guards who can shoot. It was a good challenge. I felt like we deserved that win, but we just couldn’t quite pull it off.”

Chadron State returns to the court on Saturday after a day of practice and film. Their tip-off against the host Montana State Billings Yellowjackets is at 7 p.m.