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ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia University women's basketball team (22-8) heads to Sioux Falls to continue action in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament this weekend. The Golden Bears, the third seed from the South, will take on Minot State, the second seed in the North on Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. The winner advances to the semifinals on Monday.
The Golden Bears have won both meetings against the Minot State Beavers since they've joined the league. This will be their first meeting in the NSIC Tournament ever.
BACK ON JANUARY 31st... The Golden Bears used a dominant first half to build a 41-19 lead at the break and withstood a second half surge to claim the win. Concordia shot 45.9% from the field in the opening 20 minutes while holding the Beavers to just 20.6%. The momentum shifted in favor of Minot State in the second half as Minot rebounded to shoot 48.6% in the second half compared to just 26.1% for the Golden Bears, but it wasn't enough to overcome the 22 point halftime deficit as CU claimed a 68-63 win.
Anika Whiting scored a season-high 28 points, one shy of her career-high, on 10-17 shooting and 7-7 from the free throw line. She also grabbed six boards.
Carissa Wolyniec also hit five threes and finished with 16 points.
LAST TIME OUT... Concordia advanced to the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament quartefinals with an 81-72 win over Minnesota Duluth on Wednesday night. Concordia knocked down a sizzling 49.1% (26-53) from the floor and 42.9% (6-14) from three in the win. Cu also did an excellent job of protecting the rim as they blocked a school record 12 shots compared to just one for the Bulldogs.
A big reason for the advantage in blocks was sophomore
Kionda Nicks. Nicks set a Division II era record at CU with eight blocks to go along with four points, six rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes of action.
Offensively,
Ameshia Kearney stayed hot with 25 points, one shy of her career high set last Saturday, as well as five rebounds and three assists.
Perhaps the most impressive stat line of the night came from senior
Rachel Hansen. She nearly finished with a triple-double with 20 points, 10 boards and eight assists on 7-12 shooting and 9-13 from the charity stripe. It was Hansen's second 20-point, 10-rebound game of the season and fifth overall for the team. She scored all 20 of her points in the second half.
LEAGUE LEADERS... The Golden Bears have three different players that come into the weekend leading the lead in major categories.
Rachel Hansen's 4.83 assists per game is tied for tops in the league. She also led the league in assists last season.
Kionda Nicks, meanwhile, holds a sizable lead in the blocks per game category. Her 2.45 blocks per game is almost half a block per game more than anyone else.
Carissa Wolyniec comes in with an NSIC best 2.76 threes made per game.
FESSLER NOTES... Head coach
Paul Fessler reached major milestones the past few games as he picked up his 400th career win overall and his 300th career win at Concordia. On Friday, he also clinched another seaosn with 20+ wins, giving 11 of his 14 seasons at the helm for the Golden Bears.
NSIC TOURNAMENT HISTORY... The Golden Bears have a 20-7 record in 11 trips to the tournament. CU has taken home the title three times ('05, '07, '08) and has reached the tournament final six times. Concordia holds a 10-1 record in quarterfinal games in the tournament.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS... The Northern Sun released their Women's All-Conference teams and three members of the Concordia Golden Bears received honors. Junior foward
Anika Whiting was selected to the First Team, senior guard
Rachel Hansen was selected to the Second Team and sophomore forward
Kionda Nicks was selected the All-Defensive Team.
