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ST. PAUL, Minn. – The seventh seeded Concordia University women's basketball team (25-8) travels to Searcy, Ark. to take on the #2 Harding Lady Bison (29-2), the second seed and host of the Central Region tournament, in a first round matchup on Friday, March 14th at 5 p.m. The Golden Bears are the champions of the Northern Sun (NSIC) Tournament.
THE MATCH-UP...
This marks the first meeting between Concordia and Harding on the hardwood. The Lady Bison, the winners of the Great American Conference, enter the tournament with a record of 29-2 overall. They are making their first ever appearance to the tournament.
LAST TIME OUT...
Concordia-St. Paul won the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This marks the fourth time that the Golden Bears have claimed the NSIC Tournament championship in 11 trips. On Wednesday, Concordia knocked off UMD 81-72 in the first round of the tournament. The win was
Paul Fessler's 300th of his career at CU. The Golden Bears 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. On Sunday, the Golden Bears did an excellent job of taking care of the ball with only four turnovers in the game while also forcing 13 in a 73-52 win over Minot State in the quarterfinals. CU held the Beavers to over 20 points below their season average as they held them to just 33.9% from the floor. Concordia also held advantages in points off turnovers, fast break points, bench points and assists. On Monday, CU picked up a 78-66 win over Sioux Falls to advance to the title game. The Golden Bears grinded out the win as they got to the free throw line 37 times for the game, hitting 25 of them. Ball control was once again the story as the Golden Bears put together their second straight game with four or less turnovers while committing no more than two in a any half during that stretch. The Golden Bears only forced nine turnovers for USF but were opportunistic in those turnovers as they had an 11-2 advantage on points off turnovers. On Tuesday, suffocating defense was the story for the Golden Bears in the final as they held the Wolves to just 25.0% (14-56) from the floor while also forcing 14 turnovers in a 54-36 win. The 36 points scored by Northern State was by the far the season low for the top seed out of the North. NSU also went just 4-17 from beyond the arc and 4-10 from the free throw line.
Rachel Hansen was named the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament MVP as she helped guide the Golden Bears to their fourth tournament title. The senior averaged 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists in Concordia's four wins. Hansen attacked the basket aggressively and got to the free throw line 35 times in the tournament. Perhaps her best performance came in an opening round win over Minnesota Duluth. Hansen nearly picked up a triple double as she had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
LAST YEAR IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT...
After getting out a strong 18-8 start in the first six-plus minutes of play, #21 Concordia-St. Paul (23-7) was unable to sustain the momentum as #24 Augustana (25-6) responded with a 17-0 run and never looked back. Concordia fell 78-66 to the Vikings to end its season in the 2013 NCAA Central Region Tournament quarterfinals at Lee Arena on the campus of Washburn University. The Golden Bears came into the tournament with the third seed after winning the NSIC Regular Season Overall and South Division Championships while the Vikings were the sixth seed after winning the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament Championship. It was Augustana that snapped Concordia's 15-game winning streak in the conference tournament semifinals, and now the Vikings hand a second-straight loss to end the Golden Bears' remarkable season. The Golden Bears shot a respectable 45.3% (24-53) in the loss, while Augustana hit 48.3% (29-60) from the floor. When the totals were compiled, the Golden Bear defense actually forced more turnovers (19) than Augustana (18) as Concordia committed only three second half turnovers.
Kionda Nicks finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks on 6-of-11 shooting.
Anika Whiting led Concordia with 15 points on 6-12 shooting and added four rebounds (all offensive). Wolyniec would hit 3-of-6 from three-point range and finish with nine points.
But even with Nicks and Whiting producing solid statistical performances, the Vikings used a decisive advantage in second chance scoring and rebounding to run away with the contest. Augustana out-rebounded Concordia 40-25 including an 18-9 mark on the offensive glass which led to a 25-10 edge in second chance points.
Although Whiting played 32 minutes and Nicks played 28, both players went through extended stretches on the bench due to foul trouble.
LEAGUE LEADERS...
The Golden Bears have three different players that came into the NSIC Conference Tournament leading the NSIC 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.
NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES...
The Golden Bears have made nine previous trips to the NCAA Tournament and hold a record of 7-9 in those appearances. Their best performances came in 2006 and 2010 as they reached the Sweet 16 in those two seasons. CU has a winning record at 5-4 in first round games.
Against potential second round opponents, CU holds a 14-18 record in the all-time series with Northern State and a 1-0 record in their only meeting against Pittsburg State. The Golden Bears and Wolves split the season series as NSU claimed the only regular season meeting 61-59 while CU took the NSIC Tournament title with 54-36 win. Concordia's first ever meeting against Pittsburg State came back on November 9th in the CCA Tip-Off Classic in Anaheim, Calif. The Golden Bears pulled out a 68-62 win, handing the Gorillas their first loss of the season.
The Golden Bears have limited exposure to the rest of the field outside of Wayne State. CU is 17-15 all-time against the Wildcats and 0-2 against Emporia State but have never met Central Missouri or Southwestern Oklahoma State.
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.
