ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (8-7, 4-5 NSIC) will travel to Minnesota State this Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 6 pm for their second matchup with the Mavericks. The Golden Bears will return home on Friday, Jan. 13 for a matchup with U-Mary at 6 pm and then host Minot State on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 4 pm.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Concordia went 1-1 over the weekend falling to Wayne State by a score of 52-66 on Friday and then coming away with a big win over Augustana by a score of 83-77.
 
On Friday, CSP trailed by only six entering the final quarter of play but struggled greatly in the fourth quarter shooting 8.3 percent from the floor and only scoring six points in the final 10 minutes of play.
 
Caitlyn Russell led CSP with 16 points and four blocks in the loss.
 
On Saturday, the Golden Bears finished the game shooting 43.1% (28-65) from the floor and 89.5% (17-19) from the free-throw line. The Vikings, only shot 33.3% (24-72) and went 81.0% (17-21) from the free-throw line. CSP also held a 51-39 rebounding advantage.
 
Anna Schmitt, Caitlyn Russell, and Lauren Shifflett combined for 63 of the teams' 83 points as they scored 26, 20, and 17 points, respectively.
 
Kyrah Fredenburg also pulled in a game-high 17 rebounds in the win.
 
SCOUTING MINNESOTA STATE (7-6, 3-6 NSIC)
MSU SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and the Mavericks will meet for the second time this season and 35th time in the series history with both teams each winning 17 games apiece.
 
LAST MEETING VS MSU
Minnesota State came away with an 86-68 win at Concordia back on Dec. 17 to tie the series record. MSU shot the ball very well in the first meeting as they shot 51.6 percent from the field while CSP shot 36.2 percent for the game.
 
The Mavericks also held a great rebounding advantage as they outrebounded the Golden Bears 51-28.
 
Lauren Shifflett led the way for the Golden Bears with a game-high 17 points which included four 3-pointers. Mishayla Jones added 12 points for CSP and three assists.
 
Brianna Miller finished with nine points off the bench for Concordia on 4-5 shooting. Hanna Vidlund added eight points also off the bench while draining a pair of triples in the game.
 
The Mavericks had a very balanced offensive attack for the game as four players would finish in double digits and 11 players would score in the game. Leading the way was Claire Ziegler who scored a team-high 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, Taylor Klug added 14 points off the bench for MSU while Britney Scherber and Monica Muth rounded out the double digit scoring with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS
The Mavericks were picked to finish sixth overall in the preseason polls and fourth in South Division standings.
 
After the win against CSP back on Dec. 17, MSU defeated Waldorf at home by a score of 82-59 prior to the Christmas break.
 
Following the holiday break, the Mavericks have had their struggles as they have dropped their last four games to MSU Moorhead, Northern State, Augustana and Wayne State.
 
Minnesota State is coming off a 55-70 loss against Wayne State. MSU only trailed by four at the intermission break, but WSC would outscore the Mavericks 25-10 in the third quarter to build upon their lead, making it too much for MSU to overcome. 
 
Claire Ziegler currently leads the Mavericks in scoring at 12.3 points per game and rebounds at 8.5 per game. Ziegler is currently shooting 44.7% from the field.
 
Brittney Scherber ranks second on the team in scoring averaging 11.2 points per game. She is currently shooting 80.6 percent from the free-throw line and leads the team in minutes played at 28.2 per game.
 
Sammie Delzotto ranks third on the team at scoring as she is averaging 9.6 points per game. She leads the team in steals with 24
 
As a team, the Mavericks rank first in the NSIC in rebounds per game at 42.2, defensive rebounds per game with 29.2, and ranks second in rebounding margin at +12.9. They also rank third in points per game with 71.1.
 
SCOUTING U-MARY (9-9, 4-6 NSIC)
U-MARY SERIES HISTORY
CSP and U-Mary will meet for the 16th time on Friday. Concordia is 11-5 all-time against UM having won the last four meetings between the two teams.
 
LAST MEETING VS U-MARY
The Golden Bears came away with a 96-75 win in Bismarck in last years' matchup. CSP outscored UM by 29 points in the second half after trailing by eight at the half.
 
CSP hit 47.4% in the first and just 35.7% in the second before firing at 52.9% in the third and a red-hot 71.4% in the fourth to finish the game at 51.6% (33-64). The Golden Bears nearly doubles their season-best in threes made in a game as they knocked down 15, including 10 in the second half.
 
Leading the way for CSP was Anna Schmitt who scored a team-high 16 points while pulling in six rebounds, and dishing out six assists. Mishayla Jones tallied 15 points (3-5 3FG), grabbed five rebounds, dished out four assists, and stole six passes which ties her career-high.
 
Lauren Shifflett hit six threes for the third time this season while Mishayla Jones was nearly perfect from deep, knocking down five of her six attempts. Shifflett led CSP with 26 points and six assists while Jones finished with 21 points, four rebounds and four assists.
 
Anna Schmitt made it three Golden Bears with 20+ points as she finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists as she hit 7-10 from the floor and 2-2 from three-point range.
 
Brittany Dietz carried the scoring load for the Marauders as she poured in a game-high 28 points on 10-23 shooting while she also added nine boards and five assists.
 
ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
U-Mary is currently fifth in the North Division standings with a 9-9 overall record and 4-6 conference record.
 
After a 1-4 start to the season, U-Mary responded with a five game winning streak including their NSIC opener win against Minot State by a score of 67-54.
 
Following their five game winning streak, the Marauders hit a tough patch of their schedule as they dropped four consecutive NSIC games.
 
UM is 3-2 in their last five games as they are coming off a 1-1 weekend where they upset #25 Northern State on Friday  by a score of 69-56 before falling to #24 MSU Moorhead by a score of 53-73.
 
Hannah Larson leads the Marauders in scoring (13.7 ppg), rebounding (7.7 rpg), assists (2.8) and total blocks (44). Gabbie Bohl comes in second on the team in scoring averaging 11.9 points per game and she also ranks second on the team in rebounds per game at 4.9.
 
Dani Williams ranks third on the team in scoring at 9.3 points per game. She also leads the team in free-throw percentage at 82.9 percent.
 
The Marauders interior defense has been very good this year as they hold 97-44 blocks advantage against their opponents.
 
SCOUTING MINOT STATE (3-13, 1-9 NSIC)
MINOT SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears meet the Beavers for the sixth time on the court as CSP holds a 4-1 record in the five previous meetings.
 
Concordia won the first four matchups and Minot got their first win against CSP last year.
 
LAST MEETING VS MINOT
MiSU topped Concordia by a score of 71-66 in Minot in their lone meeting last year.
 
The Golden Bears led by as many as 12, including holding a 48-38 lead with 3:18 to go in the third quarter, but they couldn't withstand a late Minot State surge in the loss.
 
Concordia held the Beavers to just 30.3% from the floor in the opening half, but couldn't maintain it as Minot finished the game at 41.9% (26-62). Concordia connected on 40.3% (27-67) in the game.
 
Rebounding and bench scoring went in favor of Minot State as the Beavers held a 45-37 lead (16-13 in offensive boards) as well as a 22-13 lead in bench scoring. Concordia, however, held a 28-18 advantage on points in the paint.
 
Lauren Shifflett led the way with 14 points as she hit four threes on the night. Kyrah Fredenburg added 11 points along with seven rebounds as well.
 
Caitlyn Russell was solid on both ends as she put up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds on an efficient 5-7 from the floor. Anna Schmitt also chipped in 10 points and five assists to round out the double digit scoring.
 
Sarah Lester paced the Beavers with 20 points while Savana Kingsbury fell a rebound short of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
 
ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Minot State currently holds a 3-13 overall record and a 1-9 record in NSIC play.
 
The Beavers have been struggling as of late as they have only won one game in their last 10 contests. That lone win came against St. Cloud State by a score of 77-63 on the road.
 
Minot is coming off a pair of losses this weekend, falling to #24 MSU Moorhead on Friday by a score of 52-66 and then falling to #25 Northern State on Saturday by a score of 66-76.
 
As a team they have outrebounded their opponents 575-557. They have also crashed the offensive glass very consistently as they have 203-159 offensive rebound advantage over their opponents.
 
Kari Clements and Mariah Payne have provided a nice scoring duo for Minot State as they are averaging 10.9 and 10.1 points per game, respectively. Clements also leads the team in minutes per game (32.8) and steals (30). Payne is the team leader in assists per game at 3.0.
 
Kori Eurich provides a third scoring option for the Beavers as she is averaging 9.0 points per game while shooting 40.3 percent from 3-point distance.
 
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 12 different statistical categories in the conference.
 
Kyrah Fredenburg ranks second in rebounds per game at 10.2 while her 8.2 defensive rebounds per game ranks frist.  Her 2.2 offensive rebounds per game ranks 10th overall.
 
Anna Schmitt places in five categories as she ranks fourth in scoring (15.9 PPG), 10th in assists per game (3.7), eighth in field goal percentage (45.0%), eighth in free-throw percentage (82.2%) and third in minutes played per game (34.3).
 
Caitlyn Russell's 1.5 blocks per game ranks eighth in the conference.
 
Mishayla Jones ranks sixth in steals per game (2.2) and sixth in assists per game 4.1.
 
Lauren Shifflett comes in at 10th in 3-point field goal percentage with a 34.9 percent.