GAMEDAY LINKS: WATCH | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The #21 Concordia University women's basketball team (5-3, 0-1 NSIC) will look to grab their first conference win as the Winona State Warriors (4-1, 0-1 NSIC) and the Upper Iowa Peacocks (2-3, 1-0 NSIC) come to town for some NSIC action.
THE MATCH-UPS... Friday's game at the Gangelhoff Center is the 37th meeting between Winona State and Concordia on the court. CU leads the all-time series 26-11, but have dropped four of the last five against the Warriors. Concordia has gone 10-4 against WSU at the Gangelhoff Center.
Saturday's matchup with Upper Iowa marks marks 18th time the two schools have met. The Golden Bears have dominated the series, winning 16 of the 17 previous meetings. UIU's only win came back on January 8th, 2012 in Fayette.
LAST YEAR AT GANGELHOFF CENTER... The Winona State Warriors grabbed a dramatic 62-59 win against Concordia. The Golden Bears held a 59-58 lead with 33 seconds left but were unable to hold on as the Warriors hit four straight free throws on the next two possessions to shut the door.
Carissa Wolyniec and
Anika Whiting each had 15 points to lead CU and WSU received 16 points from Michelle Tobin.
The Golden Bears picked up their first conference victory against the Peacocks in convincing fashion, claiming a 79-57 win. The Golden Bears got to the free throw line frequently on the night and hit 28-40 (70.0%) from the charity stripe. Rebounding was a key for the Bears as they grabbed 48 rebounds to UIU's 39. CU also forced 23 turnovers on the night but also turned it over 16 times.
Anika Whiting finished the game with a game-high 24 points and eight boards on 5-14 shooting and 14-16 from the line.
LAST TIME OUT... CU opened NSIC play on Saturday afternoon with an 87-63 loss to the Minnesota State Mavericks. MSU used a 20-0 run midway through the first half to run away from Concordia. The Mavericks shot 45.5% (30-66) from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc (12-28) while outrebounding the Golden Bears 48-31.
Rachel Hansen continued her solid play with 15 points, nine assists, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals while hitting 5-10 shots.
Anika Whiting joined her in double digits with 14 points.
The Peacocks and Warriors also met this past Saturday in their respective conference openers at Upper Iowa and UIU 66-58 victory.
Whitney Kieffer currently leads Upper Iowa in scoring at 15.8 PPG. Lauren Buck has also been a solid contributor, adding 10.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.
Abbey Busch has been the undisputed go-to scorer for Winona State through five games, averaging 17.0 points per game.
