MANKATO, Minn. – The Concordia University women's basketball team opened NSIC play Saturday, dropping a road test 85-66 at Minnesota State. The Golden Bears fall to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC, while the Mavericks remain perfect on the young season at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in league play.

Anika Whiting (Ashland, Wis.) gave the Bears a boost to start the game with the team's first six points, which gave CU a 6-2 lead through 2:12. The Mavericks took a 10-8 lead after a timeout and the two squads traded the lead eight times until MSU took a 23-22 advantage at the 7:49 mark, which it held on to the rest of the game. The Mavericks finished the first half on a 27-to-9 run and took a 47-31 lead into the locker room.

The first half scoring outburst by the Mavericks was led by Ali Wikinson who tallied 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor in the first 20 minutes. Whiting led the visitors with 12 points in the opening half.

The end of the first period proved to be the deciding factor in the game as the Bears couldn't overcome their halftime deficit. Minnesota State would gain its largest lead of the game at 66-41 with 12:14 left in the game and held a 25-point lead three times. The closest CU came to tying the score in the second was a 19-point deficit on three different occasions, but the early deficit was too much to dig out of.

Concordia shot 24-for-56 from the floor (42.9%), while Minnesota State went 34-for-66 (51.5%). At the charity stripe, CU converted on 11-of-19 attempts as the Mavericks made 9-of-12. The battle of the boards was close with MSU edging Concordia 37-to-35 in rebounds. Both teams had nine steals.

Whiting paced the Bears with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including 5-for-7 from the free throw line, four rebounds and a block. Rachel Hansen (Eagan, Minn.) totaled a team-high seven rebounds, five assists and three steals, and added nine points, shooting 3-for-7 from the field.

Four Mavericks reached double digit points led by Wilkinson with 22. She also led the squad with seven rebounds.

Concordia will host Upper Iowa on December 7 for its first NSIC game at the Gangelhoff Center. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m.