ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (11-7, 7-5 NSIC) hit the road this weekend as they travel to Southwest Minnesota State on Friday, Jan. 20 before going to Sioux Falls on Saturday, Jan. 21. Game times are at 6 pm and 4 pm, respectively.
 
LAST TIME OUT
CSP swept their weekend home stand with a 78-68 win over U-Mary followed by a 63-53 win over Minot State. The wins extended their winning streak to four games.
 
Concordia went 31-34 (91.2%) from the free-throw line against U-Mary, including 20-22 in the fourth quarter alone. The 31 made free-throws ranks second in program history for a single game.
 
Mishayla Jones led the way for CSP as she scored a game-high 19 points. She also added three assists and two steals. Anna Schmitt added 17 points and five rebounds and Kyrah Fredenburg rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
 
The Marauders were led by Gabbie Bohl who scored a team-high 16 points and pulled in 11 rebounds. Lauren Rotunda added 14 points while Hannah Larson and Cassie Askvig each finished with 11 points.
 
Against Minot State, the Golden Bears used a strong defensive third quarter holding Minot to just 27.3% shooting for the quarter and then converting on offense to give them their first double-digit lead of the game and their biggest lead of the game.
 
Anna Schmitt led the way with a game-high 24 points. Mishayla Jones added 14 points, four assists and four steals. Kyrah Fredenburg recorded yet another double-double as she finished with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
The Beavers were led by Madison Wald who scored a team-high 18 points while going 3-5 from beyond the arc. Kristal Flowers recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
 
SMSU SERIES HISTORY
CSP and SMSU will meet for the 51st time on Friday. Concordia is 34-16 all-time against the Mustangs having won the last nine meetings. Concordia is 30-2 against SMSU since 2003.
 
LAST MEETING VS SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
The Golden Bears won both matchups against SMSU last season. CSP won the first meeting in Marshall by a score of 78-70. In St. Paul, CSP won by a score of 68-59.
 
The Golden Bears connected on a scorching 62.1% (18-29) before the break before hitting just 36.7% (11-30) in the second half.  CSP finished at 49.2% on the night while SMSU hit 44.2% (23-52) for the game.
 
Concordia also used an impressive 46-30 edge on points in the paint as well as 25-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Mishayla Jones and Caitlyn Russell were a nearly unstoppable duo for the Golden Bears as the two of them combined to score 49 of the team's 68 points.
 
Jones matched a career-high with 25 points hitting an efficient 10-13 from the floor and 3-3 from deep. Russell also matched a career best as she put up 24 points on 12-18 shooting while adding seven rebounds and three blocks.
 
Annessa Rosch finished as the only Mustang in double figures as she put up 17 points on 7-15 shooting and six rebounds in the loss.
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
SMSU is currently seventh in the South Division standings with a 2-14 overall record and 2-10 conference record.
 
After a 0-5 start to the season, the Mustangs earned their first win of the season on the road against Upper Iowa by a score of 79-70.
 
Southwest Minnesota State earned their second win of the season this past weekend with a 75-66 win at Minnesota Crookston. Prior to the win on Friday, SMSU had lost eight straight games since their first win.
 
The Mustangs scored 38 points in the paint as Taylor Holicky scored a career high 22 points to lead the Mustangs past Minnesota Crookston.
 
Following the win against UMC, SMSU fell on the road to Bemidji State by a score of 66-82.
 
Three players are averaging double figures for the Mustangs, led by Caleigh Rodning and Lauren Hedlund who are averaging 12.3 and 12.2 points per game, respectively. Rodning also leads the team in 3-point percentage at 38.5%. Hedlund currently leads the team in rebounds with 9.8 per game.
 
Taylor Holicky ranks third on the team in scoring with 10.2 points per game. She also ranks second on the team in rebounds with 8.6 per game. Holicky leads the team in steals with 18 and blocks with 11.
 
USF SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears meet the Cougars for the 10th time on the court as CSP holds a 6-3 all-time record against USF.
 
Concordia won the first six matchups but Sioux Falls has won the previous three meetings.
 
LAST MEETING VS SIOUX FALLS
USF defeated CSP in both meetings last year by a score of 69-64 in the first meeting in Sioux Falls and then won by a score of 64-49 in St. Paul in the regular season finale.
 
In the regular season finale, Concordia struggled from the floor as they hit just 34.5% (19-55) from the field and 11.8% (2-17) from beyond the arc. The Cougars, meanwhile, hit 46.3% (25-54) on the night.
 
USF also held a 38-26 edge in points in the paint and 11-5 edge in points off of turnovers in the win.
 
Mishayla Jones was a bright spot for the Golden Bears as she followed up her 25-point effort last night with 17 points on 6-13 shooting to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
 
Anna Schmitt joined Jones in double figures with 11 points while Caitlyn Russell put up nine points on 4-6 from the floor off the bench for Concordia.
 
Sam Knecht carried the load for Sioux Falls as she finished with a game-high 23 points while she also chipped in six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Alison Klostergaard and Teagan Molden each added 11 points apiece as well.
 
ABOUT THE COUGARS
Sioux Falls currently holds a 14-2 overall record and a 10-2 record in NSIC play, which places them in first place in the South Division standings.
 
The Cougars have been on fire as of late, winning their last five games. The winning streak is their longest winning streak of the season after having two, four game win streaks early in the season.
 
Sioux Falls is coming off a pair of wins at Bemidji State by a score of 55-47 and at Minnesota Crookston by close score of 69-63.
 
USF's defense has been outstanding this season as they rank first in the NSIC in scoring defense (53.1) and opponent field goal percentage (.334). They also rank second in scoring margin in the conference at a 13.1 points average.
 
Sam Knecht currently leads the team in points (14.2), rebounds (10.1), blocks (33), and field goal percentage (.522). Knecht recently earned her third NSIC South Player of Week award. Knecht's 10.1 rebounds per game currently ranks second in the NSIC.
 
Kaely Hummel and Madi Robson come in averaging just under 10 points per game at 9.7 and 9.3 points per game, respectively. Hummel leads the team in 3-pointer made (33) and 3-point field goal percentage (.375). Robson currently leads the team in assists at 5.8 which ranks first in the NSIC.
 
Five players have recorded 18 or more steals for the Cougars and as team they have tallied 161 steals on the season.
 
NSIC LEADERS
The Golden Bears have seen several different players shine in different areas this season with five different players registering in as top-10 performers in 10 different statistical categories in the conference.
 
Kyrah Fredenburg ranks first in rebounds per game at 10.7 while her 8.5 defensive rebounds per game also ranks first. She also ranks 10th in offensive rebounds per game at 2.2.
 
Anna Schmitt places in three categories as she ranks third in scoring (17.0 PPG), eighth in field goal percentage (45.1%), and fourth in minutes played per game (34.1).
 
Caitlyn Russell's 1.5 blocks per game ranks eighth in the conference.
 
Mishayla Jones ranks fourth in steals per game (2.4) and sixth in assists per game 4.0.
 
Lauren Shifflett comes in at ninth in 3-point field goal made with 1.8 per game.