ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (3-6, 1-3 NSIC) is set for one of their last conference matchups of 2017 as they travel to take on the Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks on December 15^th at 6 p.m. The Bears have four games left in 2017, as they will face Palm Beach Atlantic next week before heading into their final weekend of conference play before the new year when they take on #12 Northern State and MSU Moorhead on December 30^th and 31^st.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears captured their first NSIC victory of the season last weekend, as they defeated Upper Iowa on the road 67-59. The following day they fell to Winona State 43-62 to complete their first conference road trip of the 2017-18 season.
 
As a team, the Bears shot well on Friday night against the Peacocks, connecting on 41.3% of their shots from the floor, 45.5% from three, and 82.6% from the free-throw line. Upper Iowa also shot well from the field, but CSP took advantage of 19 free points from the line, compared to the Peacock's 11. Concordia also shut down the Upper Iowa starters, holding them to only 17 of their 59 points.
 
 Junior Anna Schmitt led the way offensively for the Bears, scoring 25 points while going 43.8% (7-16) from the floor, 50.0% (3-6) from three, and a perfect 100% (8-8) from the line. Junior Kayla Miller and freshman Ellie Gess also ended in double figures; Miller had a season-high 13 points and Gess had 11, making it five straight games scoring in double digits during her freshman campaign.
 
Unfortunately the Bears did not keep up their high shooting percentages the following day against Winona State, as the team was held to shooting 28.1% from the floor and 12.9% from beyond the arc. The game started off close, going back-and-forth in the first quarter, with the Warriors holding a two point lead going into the first break. Winona State had a solid second quarter, holding the Bears to only six points all quarter, while scoring 14 of their own, leading by ten at the half. The second half belonged to the Warriors, as they led by double digits for the entire twenty minutes. In the fourth quarter, a three-pointer from freshman Ayla Lemke got the game within 12, but CSP was unable to get any closer and the Warriors went on to win by 19.
 
Junior center Lindsay Dorr led the Bears, scoring ten points and securing five boards, but was the only Concordia player to end in double figures. Lemke had a career-high day, tallying her most points, with nine, and most rebounds, with eight, so far in her Golden Bear career.  CSP also posted their season-low in turnovers, while capitalizing on ten points off of Warrior turnovers.
 
MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears have a close series history with the Mavericks, but hold the edge in wins, 18-17. The series has gone back-and-forth since December 2014, as the Bears have alternated between victory and defeat in the last six times that they have played Minnesota State. Half of those matchups have been particularly close, as the games were decided by nine points or less.
 
LAST MEETING WITH MSU
The Bears were victorious in their last meeting with the Mavericks, winning 72-61 in Mankato. CSP outscored Minnesota State in every quarter, except for the fourth, and had an especially solid third quarter, outscoring their opponent by 11. Schmitt led all scorers in the contest with 26 points, and teammates Caitlyn Russell and Mishayla Jones joined her in double digits, with 17 and 12 points, respectively. The Bears crashed the boards hard, holding a 51-40 rebounding advantage, as Kyrah Fredenburg nabbed a game-high 12. CSP also posted a much higher field goal percentage, shooting 45.5%, compared to the Maverick's 28.6%.
 
The first half was a close one, as the Bears took an early lead late in the first quarter, scoring the last nine points of the quarter to lead 18-14 after the first ten minutes. Five minutes into the second quarter the Bears were ahead by nine, but by the halftime break the Mavericks had cut that lead down to five. The Bears game out strong to start the second half, going on a 10-2 run and then leading by double digits for the majority of the third quarter. CSP held on to their double figure lead for most of the fourth quarter as well, and even though they were outscored 22-17, still went on to win 72-61
 
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State is 2-7 on the year and 1-3 in conference play. The Bears and the Mavericks have fared the same against NSIC opponents so far, losing to Wayne State, Augustana, and Winona State, but both defeating Upper Iowa. As a team, Minnesota State averages 56.3 points a game, which is 11.8 points less than what their opponents are averaging. They are shooting 36.5% from the field and only 26.5% from three, but are outrebounding their opponents by 0.7 rebounds per game.
 
The Mavericks return ten players from last year's squad and add five new faces to this year's team. Among the returners, is their leading scorer, Claire Ziegler who is averaging 10.4 points a game while shooting an impressive 50.9% from the floor. The senior forward also leads her team in rebounding, averaging 5.9 boards per game. No other player is averaging double figures for the Mavericks, but six different Minnesota State players are averaging between 5.0 and 9.3 points per game, keeping their scoring spread out among many offensive threats.
 
KEY STATS
-Last weekend, Anna Schmitt moved up another spot in the Concordia record book, as she now has the 18^th most career points in CSP women's basketball history, with 1,186.
-Schmitt leads the conference in scoring, averaging 21.8 points per game, which ranks 15^th in the nation. The junior guard also ranks fifth in the NSIC in field goal percentage (50.8%), second in free throw percentage (92.6%), and fifth in three-pointers per game (2.2).
-Junior Lindsay Dorr is averaging 7.2 rebounds a game, which ranks 10^th in the NSIC, while also averaging 9.2 points a game, which is third highest on the team.
-Ellie Gess is averaging 10.0 points a game for the Bears in her freshman season and ranks seventh in the NSIC in three-pointers per game with 2.0.
-Kayla Miller had a season-high 13 points against Upper Iowa, while also tallying four rebounds, two steals, and an assist.
-Ayla Lemke recorded her first two collegiate starts over the past weekend, having a career-high night against Winona State, scoring nine points while securing eight boards.