ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team kicks off the regular season this week as they travel to Puerto Rico for a pair of games against Division II competition. The Golden Bears face Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Friday and Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras on Saturday.
 
It will be a new-look lineup for the Golden Bears in the 2015-16 season as the team will feature a strong mix of new faces to go along with veterans tasked with playing new roles as they look to return to a spot among the elite in the NSIC. This year's group is composed seven freshmen, three sophomores, two juniors and two seniors for the young Golden Bears.
 
"There's a fresh feel and a fresh look and every person has a different role than they did last year. The excitement level is high and it has been fun to start from ground zero and build from there. The returners are all excited to take on new roles and the freshmen are excited to get going as well," said head coach Paul Fessler of his team.
 
One year after securing the program's first ever trip to the NCAA Elite 8, Concordia finished up last season at 15-14 overall and an even 11-11 in league play as they finished in a tie for ninth in the NSIC.
 
Despite losing several key players, including their two leading scorers in Anika Whiting and Ameshia Kearney, the Golden Bears were picked to repeat that finish this season as they were picked by league coached to finish ninth in the league and sixth in the South Division.
 
"Some of the typical power teams have been hit with graduation going into this year while some other schools return everyone which shows how difficult and balanced the league is going to be this year. The depth across the league is really impressive. It will be interesting to see how the preseason poll compares to the final standings," stated Fessler about the league.
 
 
Being picked ninth in the league hasn't changed the expectations for the Golden Bears as the program still has postseason aspirations for the season. "We'll never change our expectations year in and year out. We're still going to go in and try to compete for NSIC titles, whether it's regular season or tournament, and we still want to get into the NCAA Tournament," Fessler said of the team's expectations this year.
 
Early returns from practice and scrimmages have been positive for the Golden Bears as the regular season nears. "So far were pleased with how things have been going. The pace is up, we're playing fast and we've competed really well in the scrimmages. The team chemistry has been great so far. When you bring that many new faces in that's not always a given, but it seems like everyone has really been getting along which is good to see," Fessler said about the team so far.
 
Along with seeing new faces, the product on the court will also be a little different as Concordia will look to utilize some of their team speed and depth to their advantage. "We like the competition we have at all the spots and we're going to be more athletic and fast than we have been in the past. One of our goals was to pick up the pace and pick up the tempo. This should allow us to pressure more and be more aggressive on both ends of the floor," Fessler pointed out.
 
While nothing is set in stone for the young squad, the Golden Bears will enter the year with a deep rotation in the backcourt with six different players potentially seeing time. The combination of returners Mishayla Jones and Lauren Shifflett along with freshmen Anna Schmitt and Nicole Parsons are all fighting for spots while freshmen Hanna Vidlund and Anna Rollag are right there as well.
 
The Golden Bears will be without Kayla Miller, a physical sophomore guard, who will miss the season due to injury. Miller was regular in the Golden Bear lineup last season as she played in 27 games, including starting the final 14 of the year as a freshman. She finished up with 3.0 points per game along with 2.7 boards and 0.7 assists in her 15.8 minutes of play.
 
Fessler said of the loss of Miller, "Kayla has worked on her outside shot and one-dribble pull up jumper and has been working as hard, if not harder, than anybody. We will miss her tough, physical presence and look forward to having her back next year."
 
 
Jones returns for her junior season as the veteran leader as the only upperclassman guard on the roster. She broke out in a big way last season to rank third on the team with 10.2 points and second with 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 33.2 minutes per game as she started all 29 games. She will once again be asked to play a key role for CSP.
 
"Shay has great ball skills and can score in a variety of ways and we want to take advantage of that skillset even more this year," Fessler said of Jones.
 
Shifflett provided the Golden Bears with a consistent deep threat as a redshirt freshman last season as she connected on 39.8% from beyond the arc with 43 threes made, second most on the team. Her 7.4 points per game off the bench gave CSP a spark and ranked fourth on the team in her 19.8 minutes of play. She will be called upon to provide some much needed offense again this year.
 
"Shifflett was big off the bench last year as a shooter and is working hard to add more elements as a scorer this season," pointed out Fessler.
 
The duo of Anna Schmitt and Nicole Parsons join the Golden Bears after decorated high school career and will be counted on to play important roles from the start.
 
About Schmitt, Fessler said, "Schmitt can get the ball up and down the floor faster than anybody I've ever had here. She scored a lot of points in high school but she's also a phenomenal passer." He added about Parsons, "Nicole is a great athlete who never gets tired and can run the floor and get to the basket as well as a great on-ball defender."
 
The freshmen pair of Hanna Vidlund and Anna Rollag will also be ready when called upon as Vidlund gives the Golden Bears another threat from beyond the arc while Rollag adds ball handling skills and tough defense.
 
A pair of players that will be contributing minutes between the backcourt and the frontcourt are senior Jordyn Dudley and Kari Opatz. Dudley has been impressive when called upon in her first three years on campus as she has been a clutch shooter who has hit some big shots and given the Golden Bears some perimeter shooting. Opatz joins the team from the golf team as a two-sport athlete after just playing golf in her first year at CSP. She is another player who can hit from deep for Concordia.
 
Up front, Kionda Nicks, Kyrah Fredenburg and Caitlyn Russell will gobble up a lot of the playing time while Courtney Lyons and Julie Hagert will also give the team a boost along with Dudley and Opatz.
 
Nicks has been a mainstay in the Concordia lineup over the past three years as her versatility has been valuable. Twice named to the NSIC All-Defensive Team, she is the all-time leading shot blocker in program history by a large margin as her last two single season marks come in at one and two at Concordia. She also contributes as a passer and a rebounder as well as someone who can grab a few steals.
 
"She is known as a shot blocker around the league but is also a phenomenal passer and has scored some more this year in an up-tempo offense that plays well into her skill set," Fessler said of the senior.
 
Fredenburg saw limited playing time as a freshman last season, but gave the Golden Bears some strength and defense in her time on the court. She appeared in 23 games and put up 2.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
 
"Kyrah is a physical player who can rebound and defend and will do all the dirty work we need. She has been great in the preseason and will give us a lot of toughness," stated Fessler.
 
Russell, a junior, gives the Golden Bears some size and skill in the low post as she showed the ability to score and rebound when called upon last season for the Golden Bears. She was productive with 4.2 points and 2.9 boards per game in just 9.0 minutes as she scored in double figures three different times.
 
Fessler said of Russell, "Caitlyn is a player that we need to have a breakout year. She has size, speed, shooting touch and can finish near the basket so we need her to provide us that low post presence."
Lyons, a freshman from Australia, will be in competition with Dudley to see extended minutes at the four while Hagert gives the Golden Bears another option in the frontcourt. Lyons gives CSP another smooth shooter in both the mid-range game and perimeter game while Hagert has a nice touch from mid-range and works hard for good position.
 
Concordia will have little time to get acclimated with their new lineup as they have a tough non-conference slate with six quality opponents, including two ranked in the top-11 in Division II. After this weekend's trip to the island of Puerto Rico, the Golden Bears face off against a nationally-ranked NAIA school in Jamestown as well as #8 Michigan Tech on their home court in the Radisson Hotel MSP North Classic. CSP also travels to Springfield, Mo. for the Drury Thanksgiving Classic as they take on #11 Drury and Maryville for their final non-conference tune-ups.
 
Things won't get much easier in conference play as two of their first three NSIC games are against teams ranked inside the top-25 as they open up at #24 Wayne State and Augustana before hosting #16 Winona State in their home opener. Overall, the Golden Bears hit the road for five of their first seven NSIC games before returning home for seven of their next nine.
 
An interesting change for the 2015-16 season for the Golden Bears will be the change from halves to quarters in the NCAA play. Women's basketball at the collegiate level will be moving to four 10-minute quarters this season as the game instead of two 20-minute halves. With the change, there will now be four media timeouts, one at the five-minute mark of each quarter, compared to the six that used to be in place. In addition, the foul rules will be changed as seven fouls in a half for bonus and 10 fouls for double bonus will not be used and instead it will be five fouls in a quarter resulting in two free throws.
 
Check back with cugoldenbears.com throughout the entire season for updates about the team.