ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (7-3, 3-1 NSIC) will play host to Minnesota State Mankato this Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2 pm inside the Gangelhoff Center.
 
Concordia had a very successful weekend as they came away with a pair of wins to move to 3-1 in NSIC play. CSP escaped a close 60-57 win against Upper Iowa and then upset #12 Winona State by a score of 66-59. On Friday, the Golden Bears struggled shooting from the floor the entire game but were outstanding from the free-throw line going 16-17 (94.1%) to help seal the win. CSP also committed a season-low nine turnovers while forcing 17 UIU turnovers. Lauren Shifflet led the way for Concordia against the Peacocks scoring a game-high 18 points while going 4-8 from beyond the arc. On Saturday, Concordia got off to a fast start against the #12 Warriors and that quick start helped come away with a 66-59 upset win. CSP's bench also outscored WSU's bench 23-6. Four players scored in double-digits against Winona State led by Caitlyn Russell who scored 14 points off the bench. Anna Schmitt notched 12 points and Lauren Shifflett added 10 points. Kyrah Fredenburg tallied 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
 
Scouting Minnesota State (5-2, 2-2 NSIC)
The Mavericks were picked to finish sixth overall in the preseason polls and fourth in South Division standings. Minnesota State started off the season on a hot streak winning their first four games of the season, three of which were by double-digits. Following their four game win streak MSU dropped two very competitive matchups to Augustana by a score of 80-89 and then to Winona State by a score of 64-79. The Mavericks are coming off a 74-63 win against Upper Iowa. MSU trailed by one at the intermission break, but outscored the Peacocks 44-32 in the second half to escape with the win. As a team, the Mavericks shot 42.2% from the field compared to 34% from Upper Iowa.
 
Claire Ziegler currently leads the Mavericks in scoring at 14.7 points per game and rebounds at 8.3 per game. Ziegler is currently shooting 54.8% from the field. Sammie Delzotto ranks second on the team at scoring as she is averaging 12.3 points per game. She leads the team in steals with 13 and 3-point field goal percentage at 51.9 percent. Brittney Scherber rounds out the double-digit scoring for MSU averaging 10.3 points per game. Scherber ranks second on the team in total assist with 18 and currently leads the team in free-throw percentage at 84.0% (21-25). As a team, the Mavericks rank first in the NSIC in rebounds per game at 43.6 and rebounding margin at +9.4. They also rank third in points per game with 75.4.
 
The Golden Bears hold a slight edge in the all-time series history against Minnesota State owning a 17-16 overall record. Last year's two meetings were split and the Mavericks have won six of the last nine meetings. MSU won the first game at home by a score of 92-87 and then CSP won the second matchup by a score of 73-64.
 
Key Stats
- The Golden Bears went a combined 30-34 (88.2%) from the free-throw line in their last two games over the weekend.
- The Golden Bears have seen several different players shine in different areas this season with four different players registering in as top-10 performers in eight different statistical categories in the conference.
- Kyrah Fredenburg ranks second in rebounds per game at 10.9 while her 8.5 defensive rebounds per game ranks first and her 2.4 offensive rebounds per game ranks 10th. Fredenburg's 32.6 minutes per game ranks sixth in the NSIC.
- Anna Schmitt places in three categories as she ranks fifth in scoring (16.0 PPG) and ninth in assists per game (4.1), and third in minutes played per game (34.0).
- Caitlyn Russell's 1.4 blocks per game ranks ninth in the conference.
- Mishayla Jones ranks sixth in assists per game (4.2), second in steals per game (2.7) and fifth in minutes played per game (32.8).
Live stats and video for this weekend's game can be found at the links above or on the Women's Basketball schedule page.