ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (2-3) is gearing up for a busy week, as they host an exhibition game on Tuesday against Augsburg (3-2) and then open conference play on Friday and Saturday against the Augustana Vikings (5-0, 1-0 NSIC) and the Wayne State Wildcats (6-3, 0-1 NSIC). Tuesday's game is set for 7 p.m., Friday's game against Augustana will tip-off at 6 p.m., and Saturday's matchup against Wayne State will begin at 4 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears just wrapped up their Radisson Hotel Classic, going 1-1 with an 83-73 win over the Lake Superior State Lakers and a 76-83 loss against the #10 Michigan Tech Huskies over the weekend at the Gangelhoff Center.
 
 Against Lake Superior State, the Bears had nine different players score, which is the most spread out the scoring has been so far this season. Junior Anna Schmitt led all scorers with 27 points and center Lindsay Dorr racked up her second double-double of the year, scoring 12 points and nabbing 13 boards. CSP led 40-27 at half time and was up by 23 at one point in the third quarter, but in the fourth quarter the Lakers went on a 13-2 run to cut the Bears' lead down to nine with five minutes left in the game. The Bears were able to hold on and finished the contest up by ten.
 
The following day, the Bears ran into a hot shooting team as the Huskies shot 54.2% from the floor and 62.5% from behind the arc. The Huskies also capitalized on 14 CSP turnovers, scoring 25 points from turnovers alone. Schmitt had another impressive offensive performance, scoring a career-high 33 points. Dorr and freshman Ellie Gess also ended in double figures for the Bears.
 
AUGSBURG SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears hold a 16-10 all-time record against the Auggies, playing them off and on from 1968 till their last meeting on December 2^nd, 1996 when Augsburg was victorious 83-71.
 
ABOUT THE AUGGIES
Augsburg is 3-2 on the year so far, and has won their last three contests, two of which were played in California against Caltech and Occidental college. The Auggies return eight players to their roster and add five new players under third year head coach Ted Riverso. Overall, Augsburg has a young squad, as 11 out of 13 players are freshmen or sophomores.
The Auggies return their leading scorer in sophomore guard Tamira McLemore, who is currently averaging 13.8 points per game. Sophomores K'Aezha Wubben and Aiza Wilson are also averaging over nine points for Augsburg. As a team, the Auggies average 68.0 points a game and are shooting 39.7% from the floor and 29.1% from three.
 
AUGUSTANA SERIES HISTORY
The Bears own an 11-14 all-time record against the Vikings, and are an even 8-8 in conference games. CSP holds a 7-2 home record against Augustana and defeated them at home last season 83-77. Before last season's victory, the Vikings had won the last four straight, although the Bears won all three games against them before that in the 2013-14 season.
 
LAST MEETING VS AUGIE
The last time that the Bears took on the Vikings, CSP was victorious on their home court winning 83-77. The Bears were up by nine early in the second quarter, but Augustana slowly chipped away at that lead and went into the halftime break up by one, as the score was 40-39 in favor of the Vikings. CSP got hot in the third quarter, at one point going on an eight point run, and lead by eight heading into the final quarter. The Vikings scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to make it a one-point game, but CSP refused to give up the lead and went on to win by six.
 
Schmitt led all scorers with 26 points. Caitlyn Russell added 20 and Lauren Shifflett chipped in with 17 to lead the Bears to victory. Concordia was able to hold their opponents to a 33.3% shooting percentage in both shots from the floor and from behind the arc, while they shot 43.1% from the floor and 35.7% from three.
 
ABOUT THE VIKINGS
The Vikings are 5-0 and are coming off their two victories in the Radisson Hotel Classic, where they beat both Michigan Tech and Lake Superior State. Augustana has already played a conference game, defeating Wayne State 83-78 in overtime.
 
The Vikings have an experienced roster, returning 14 players from last year's season, including all of last year's starters and leading scorers. Augustana presents a balanced offense, as four different players are averaging between 13.6 and 15.0 points per game. The team also applies heavy pressure on defense, forcing 109 turnovers so far this season. Senior guard Logan O'Farrell does a little bit of everything for the Vikings, as she leads the team in minutes (28.6), rebounds per game (6.6), steals (24), and assists (20) and is the second leading scorer with 14.4 points per game.
 
WAYNE STATE SERIES HISTORY
Concordia is an even 19-19 against Wayne State and are 2-2 in their past four matchups. The Bears last defeated the Wildcats on December 3^rd, 2016, winning 86-66 on the road. Later that season, Wayne State defeated CSP 66-52 in St. Paul.
 
LAST MEETING VS WSC
The Bears got down early in their last matchup with Wayne State, as the Wildcats led 20-7 after the first ten minutes of play. The Bears were able to pick it up during the second quarter and cut the lead down to seven, 34-27, at halftime. The third quarter was evenly matched as the Bears outscored their opponents by one, but CSP fell cold again in the fourth quarter, only scoring six points, which allowed Wayne State to win 66-52.
 
Caitlyn Russell led all scorers in the game, scoring 16 points, going 6-12 from the floor and a perfect 4-4 from the line. Kyrah Fredenburg led CSP's rebounding efforts, with nine, while also adding four points, three assists, two steals, and two blocks. As a team, the Bears forced 19 turnovers, but their opponents capitalized on free-throw opportunities, knocking down 18 points from the line, compared to the Bears' seven.
 
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Wayne State is 6-3 this season and 0-1 in the conference with an overtime loss to Augustana on November 20^th. They finished last season with a 23-7 record and went 16-6 in NSIC play. At the end of the 2016-17 season, Wayne State won two playoff games before falling to Sioux Falls in the NSIC Tournament semifinals by a score of 58-49.
 
The Wildcats return 11 players and add five new faces to this year's team. Among the returners is senior forward Paige Ballinger, who was the team's leading scorer last season and currently leads the team in scoring this year with 11.4 points per game. Ballinger also averages 6.0 rebounds a game and has 22 blocks in her nine games played. Senior Maggie Schulte also averages double digit points, with 10.8 per game, and leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.8 a game.
 
KEY STATS
-Junior Anna Schmitt recorded a career-high 33 points against #10 Michigan Tech and continues to pace the conference, as she averages 26.2 points per game. Schmitt's performance in the Radisson Hotel Classic helped her earn her second NSIC Player of the Week honor of the season.
-Lindsay Dorr registered her second double-double of the year against Lake Superior State and leads CSP in rebounding, averaging 10.0 boards per game, which ranks third best in the NSIC.
-In the Radisson Hotel Classic, the Bears dominated the glass, outrebounding their opponents 78-63, scoring 27 second chance points.
-Freshman guard Ellie Gess made her first two collegiate starts over the weekend and scored ten points in each game.
 
 
If you are unable to make it as the Bears finish off their six game homestand, follow along online at cspbears.com/watch.