ST. PAUL, Minn. – In their first day of the Radisson Hotel MSP North Classic, the Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team defeated Northern Michigan 63-61 at the Gangelhoff Center on Friday afternoon. The Golden Bears improve to 3-1 on the year and the Wildcats drop to 4-2, breaking their previous two-game winning streak.  
 
The Bears are now 5-3 in their all-time series history against the Wildcats. In last season's meeting, it was Northern Michigan who came out on top, 56-49.
 
On Friday, senior Lindsay Dorr led the way for CSP with a game-high 22 points, which was her third straight game with 20+ points. Sophomore Ellie Gess was not far behind, scoring a career-best 20 points.
 
Both were efficient in their scoring, as Dorr hit 52.6% (10-19) from the floor and Gess went 66.7% (6-9), including draining a career-tying four threes on only six attempts. The pair also was perfect from the free-throw line, with Dorr cashing in on two and-1 plays and Gess hitting all four of her efforts.
 
 
Senior Anna Schmitt also ended in double figures for the Bears, scoring 11 points, five of which came from the line. Teammate Lexi Lee added a career-high six assists and Dorr led the team in rebounds with nine, four of which were on the offensive end.
 
As a team, the Golden Bears shot 40.4% from the field throughout the contest, which is the first time they have shot over 40% against a Division II opponent this season. The Wildcats shot even better, connecting on 50.0% of their shots, including 41.2% from beyond the arc. However, CSP scored six more points from the line and nine more off of turnovers.    
 
A rough shooting start (1-10 from the field) put the Bears at an early deficit, as the Wildcats led 19-9 after the first quarter. Despite only making one field goal in the quarter, the Golden Bears found a way to get to the line, capitalizing on seven of 10 from the charity stripe. Northern Michigan shot 57.1% from the field in the first ten minutes, including hitting a three.
 
Concordia really got going in the second quarter, shooting 71.4% (10-14) from the field, leading to them outscoring their opponents 22-13 to enter the halftime break only down by one. The Bears started the quarter with a 6-1 run, cutting the Northern Michigan lead to five. CSP kept chipping away, ending the half with a 7-3 run to trail 32-31 at the half.
 
Leading the Bears in the first half was Schmitt and Gess, who each had 10 points apiece. Northern Michigan's Taylor Hodell also entered the break with 10. The trio of Gess, Schmitt, and Dorr were largely responsible for CSP's shooting success in the second quarter, as together they together went 9-10 from the field, scoring 20 of the team's 22 points.  
 
Sophomore Sidney Wentland opened the second half with a big jumper in the paint, giving Concordia its first lead of the game. The lead would change hands five times in the second half, with five points being the largest lead held by either team throughout the last twenty minutes. The game was tied with two minutes left in the third quarter, but Schmitt hit a free throw and Dorr made a last-second layup to give the Bears a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Concordia's lead was short-lived, though, as the Wildcats scored the first three points of the final quarter to tie it up with just under seven minutes to play. The teams traded baskets for a few minutes, leading to another tie with under five minutes to go. From there, Lee hit a crucial three and Gess knocked down two free throws to give the Bears a five point lead.
 
The Wildcats answered with a big three from sophomore Elizabeth Lutz to cut the CSP lead to two. Gess responded with a jumper in the paint to once again give the Golden Bears a two-possession lead. Northern Michigan scored a layup and then produced a defensive stop with 30 seconds left to give themselves a good chance to tie the game. The Wildcats got off three shots in the final 30 seconds, including a last-second jumper, but none went in, giving Concordia the two-point win.   
 
Hodell led the Wildcats with 16 points and sophomore Lexi Smith also ended in double digits, with 11 points. Smith was also the top rebounder, bringing down seven boards.
 
The Golden Bears will take tomorrow off before rounding out the tournament against NAIA opponent, Jamestown (N.D.). Before playing CSP, the Jimmies will first face off with Northern Michigan on Saturday at 2 p.m. Follow along with Concordia on Sunday with links on the women's basketball schedule page.