ST. PAUL, Minn. -  The Golden Bear women's basketball team is getting ready to kick off its 2017-18 season under second-year head coach Amanda Johnson as they open play on November 10^th and 11^th in Kansas City, Missouri. The team first takes on Pittsburg State on November 10^th at 12 p.m., followed by Harding on the following day at 4:30 p.m.
 
Pittsburg State and Harding will both offer the Bears tough competition right out of the gate, as Harding is ranked third in the WBCA's preseason poll, and although Pittsburg State did not make the top-25, they did receive 54 votes, which was the most out of any team that did not secure a top-25 spot. Following the two opening non-conference games, the Bears will return to the Gangelhoff Center to take on three more non-conference opponents in Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State, and # 21 Michigan Tech.
 
Johnson admitted that this non-conference schedule will be a challenging start to the year, saying, "We have a very tough non-conference schedule but I want the girls to be challenged, and it helps with our strength of schedule. I want us to use these games to get better and get us ready for conference to start, playing at a high level against very good competition."
 
The Bears finished last season with a 19-10 overall record and a 15-7 record within the NSIC, which was good for a third place finish in the South Division. They lost a tight game in the first round of the NSIC Tournament to Minnesota Crookston 77-73 to end the season. This year, in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Bears were predicted to finish sixth overall in the NSIC and tied for fourth in the South Division. The Bears have higher goals, though, as Johnson says, "I want us to finish in the top four of the 16 teams in the NSIC, have another first-round playoff home game, and make it to the NCAA regional tournament." Johnson believes that her team is capable of these high standards and can achieve them with the right combination of leadership, work ethic, and confidence.
 
CSP returns nine players for the 2017-18 season, while adding four new faces to this year's squad. Among those returning are the conference's leading scorer and leading rebounder. Junior guard Anna Schmitt averaged 18.8 points to lead the conference last season and is only ten points away from her 1,000th career point. Schmitt also finished last season with 89 assists, 39 steals, and a team-leading .830 free throw percentage.
 
"Anna will have more responsibilities this year and I need her to be more of a floor general now that we don't have our senior point guard, Mishayla Jones, returning from last year. She needs to be our go-to scorer, even though it may be a little tougher to score this year, as teams will really target her," Johnson said of Schmitt.
 
Senior guard, Kyrah Fredenburg, has led the conference in rebounding for the past two seasons, averaging over ten rebounds a game in both seasons. Fredenburg also averaged 5.4 points per game and had 40 steals in the 2016-17 season.
 
Johnson commented on her expectations of Fredenburg this year, saying, "Kyrah has always been our heart and we rely on her toughness and rebounding to get us going on defense. I want this to be Kyrah's third season leading the conference in rebounding. I also expect great leadership from Kyrah this year as a senior and want her to lock down defend other teams' leading scorers while staying out of foul trouble." 
 
Along with Schmitt and Fredenburg, the Bears return a handful of other experienced players. Kayla Miller, Hanna Vidlund, Brianna Miller, Lindsay Dorr, and Haydn Becker all return with twenty or more game appearances. After losing three of their five leading scorers from last season, Johnson will be looking to these veterans to step up and be a scoring threat throughout the season.
 
Dorr was averaging 6.6 points a game before being sidelined by an injury in the 2016-17 season. She ended her sophomore campaign with 132 points, 60 rebounds, and 19 blocks. "Lindsay Dorr is back and healthy this year and we are expecting her to be one of our go-to scorers in the post. Also, our guards Kayla Miller and Hanna Vidlund are great three point shooters and we expect them to get comfortable early and be able to hit a couple threes a game," Johnson said of her returners.
 
In addition to her experienced players, Johnson is enthusiastic about her incoming freshmen, Ellie Gess, Danielle Schaub, Ayla Lemke, and Sydney Weierke. "I love our four new freshmen. They are great kids who are here to get better and make their teammates better," Johnson stated about her new players.  Also new to the floor this season will be junior transfer Lexi Lee, who is now eligible to play this year after having to sit out last year due to NSIC transfer rules. "Lexi Lee is a scoring machine once she gets confidence. She has a quick release and I love her stroke," Johnson says.
 
Based on early practices and scrimmages, Johnson has seen many positive things, both offensively and defensively. On offense, the Bears have been shooting well, as they shot 44% from behind the arc in their last exhibition game against St. Thomas. Concordia's guards have also been doing a good job of being quick in transition, which opens up more scoring opportunities for the Bears. In the post, Johnson is counting on Dorr to bring a strong presence and score in the paint after losing last year's starting center Caitlyn Russell to graduation.
 
 Defensively, the Bears will rely on their ability to make it difficult for other teams to score to help them win close games. "We have a few players that really take pride in their defense and if our whole team buys into how hard they work on defense, it will spread throughout our team," Johnson said of her team's defensive effort so far this year.
 
The Bears open up their conference schedule at home on December 1^st against Augustana, who was picked in the preseason poll to finish first in the South Division. Johnson is excited about the matchup, hoping her team can get off to a great start in conference play.
 
"We want to win and protect our home court right away. Augustana is a great team, but I truly believe this team is very capable of beating them at home," Johnson added about start of the conference schedule.
 
After taking on Augustana, the Bears host Wayne State the following day before going on the road for their next three contests. CSP will play 22 conference games, facing every team in the South Division twice and every team in the North Division only once. The season concludes with a 16-team playoff tournament, where the top four seeds in each division get to host a first round game. The next three rounds take place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
 
"I am really looking forward to this season and starting this tough schedule off ready to go and confident. I am excited to see what this team can do and who will step up and perform this year," Johnson concluded.
 
Concordia opens play this weekend, traveling to Kansas City to take on Pittsburg State on Friday, November 10^th at 12 p.m. and Harding the following day at 4:30 p.m. There will be live stats for both games and the Friday matchup will feature audio done by Pittsburg State radio. Links to the live stats and audio can be found at the top of the page.
 
Check back with cspbears.com throughout the season to stay up-to-date with all that is happening with the Golden Bear women's basketball team throughout the season.