ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Golden Bear women's basketball team (12-17, 8-14 NSIC) shot lights-out in route to an 82-63 win over St. Cloud State (17-10, 14-8 NSIC) in the first round of the NSIC Playoffs. Knocking off the #3 seed in the North Division, the #6 seed Concordia will face the winner of the Wayne State versus Minnesota Crookston game on Sunday, February 25^th at 2:30 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
 
The Bears entered the game winning their last four contests, and extended their longest win-streak of the season with playoff victory. CSP is now 25-10 in the NSIC playoffs and improve their all-time first round record to 12-3.
 
The Bears fell to St. Cloud earlier this year, when they shot 40.0% from the floor and only 26.3% from three. This time around, the Bears put together their best shooting effort of the season shooting an impressive 58.5% from the floor and a sizzling 65.0% from behind the arc. CSP also capitalized on 21 points from the line, compared to their opponent's 10.
 
Anna Schmitt led all scorers in the contest, finishing with 28 points, shooting 8-14 from the floor (57.1%), 2-3 from deep (66.6%), and 10-15 from the charity stripe (66.6%). This was the Waconia native's 12^th game this season finishing with 20+ points and 24^th game in double figures. She also dished out a massive nine assists, which is the most of any Golden Bear this season, and compiled six rebounds throughout the game.
 
Hanna Vidlund was also a major offensive threat, scoring a career-high 19 points, while draining an incredible 6-7 from the floor (85.7%), including 5-6 from deep (83.3%). This is the best field-goal percentage posted by any CSP player so far this year. Haydn Becker added 14 points, which tied her career-high. The senior guard also shot well, connecting on four of five three-point attempts.
 
Junior Lindsay Dorr led the Bears on the boards, being one point and one rebound shy of her ninth double-double of the season. The 6-2 center also tallied four blocks in the contest which makes this her fourth game with 3+ blocks.  
 

Sioux Falls here we come!!! Proud of this team! #tourneytime #pentagon #cspfam pic.twitter.com/VkyejmL7FF

— Amanda Johnson (@AmandaLee_44) February 23, 2018

The Huskies got on the board first, but Dorr soon tied it up and Becker hit a three to give the Bears the lead. CSP would hold onto that lead for the rest of the game. It was 12-10 with a little over two minutes left, but then Vidlund hit two threes and Schmitt knocked down a free-throw, helping the Bears close out the quarter on a 7-2 scoring run, giving them a 19-12 lead after the first ten minutes of play.
 
In the second half, the Huskies got it back within four with a little under eight minutes left. The Bears scored the next five straight, going up by nine and forcing St. Cloud to call a timeout. The two teams then traded baskets until the last two minutes of the half when the Huskies went on a six-point run to end the half, getting the game within two, 33-31. The Bears shot well throughout the half, connecting on 12 of 23 from the field (52.2%) and six of ten from deep (60.0%). Schmitt led all scorers at the midway point, scoring 12, hitting 4-7 from the field.
 
The Bears continued their hot shooting throughout the entirety of the second half, finishing the game strong, posting their best percentages in the final quarter. CSP and SCSU traded threes to begin the half, but then the Bears went on a 7-0 run to put them up nine. The Huskies answered, getting the game back within two with a little under five minutes left in the third quarter. CSP then scored seven more unanswered points, which the Huskies answered again with seven points of their own to get the game back within two, but the Bears did not let up and did not give up the lead. Lexi Lee hit a three within the last minute of the quarter to give Concordia a five-point lead heading into the final frame.
 
 Back-to-back threes halfway through the fourth quarter gave the Bears a 13-point lead and CSP would lead by double digits for the majority of the final five minutes of play. The Huskies were forced to foul with 2:30 left in the game and the Bears racked up 13 free points from the line in the final three minutes. The defense got some crucial stops, only allowing the Huskies to score once from the field in the last three minutes of play, allowing the Bears to win by 19, posting an 82-63 final.
 
With the win, the Bears will face the winner of Minnesota Crookston and Wayne State on Sunday, February 25^th in Sioux Falls at the Sanford Pentagon. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m.