ST. PAUL, Minn. - After a 4-1 start, the Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team begins NSIC play by traveling to Mankato to take on Minnesota State (3-1) on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 3:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Golden Bears hosted the Radisson Hotel Classic, playing Northern Michigan on Nov. 23 and Jamestown (N.D.) on Nov. 25. Concordia picked up two wins, beating Northern Michigan 63-61 and defeating Jamestown 76-59.
In the first matchup, the Golden Bears started out slow, but got back into the game with a strong second quarter. Northern Michigan led 19-9 after the first ten minutes of play, but CSP outscored the Wildcats 22-13 to trail by just one at the break (32-31).
Lindsay Dorr led the Golden Bears in the scoring, as the senior center collected 22 points and nine rebounds. Ellie Gess was also a spark off of the bench, pouring in 20 points, including shooting 4-6 from three and 4-4 from the free throw line.
The third quarter featured some evenly matched basketball, as neither team held a lead bigger than four points throughout the span of 10 minutes. The Golden Bears clinched the victory down the stretch in the fourth, with a big three-pointer from Lexi Lee and some timely scoring from Gess.
The second game of the weekend against Jamestown started in a similar fashion, as the Golden Bears were just 2-16 in the first quarter and trailed 9-8 at its conclusion. CSP would heat up in the three remaining quarters, shooting 53.3% in the second, 50.0% in the third, and 69.2% in the fourth.
Dorr once again led the Golden Bears in scoring and rebounding, collecting 23 points (10-15 shooting) and 13 rebounds. Anna Schmitt had her best game of the season, scoring 19 points and dishing out six assists. Sidney Wentland also contributed 12 points as well as two steals and two blocks.
The Golden Bears took control of the game in second in third quarters, as they outscored the Jimmies 44-23 over the span of 20 minutes. CSP was eventually able to solve the Jamestown's press, outscoring them 17-0 on the fast break and 40-28 on points in the paint.
MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
Concordia holds a slim 19-18 edge in their series history against the Mavericks. Neither team has won two games in a row in the series since 2014, as the last seven matchups have seen a different winner than the previous contest. The teams split the season series last year, with the Mavericks claiming a 70-45 win early in the season and the Golden Bears winning 74-72 near the end of January.
LAST MEETING WITH MSU
As mentioned above, Concordia was able to defeat Minnesota State in their most recent matchup, collecting a 74-72 win over the Mavericks on January 23rd at the Gangelhoff Center.
Anna Schmitt made the big play in that game, as she drove the lane and made an off-balance lay-up with just over a second to go to break the 72-72 tie and give the Golden Bears the lead. The guard led the team with 23 points and also had five rebounds.
Hanna Vidlund and Lindsay Dorr also played big roles in the win for the Golden Bears. Vidlund played all 40 minutes, scoring 16 points and dishing out seven assists. Dorr collected 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
With seven lead changes and nine ties, the game was tight throughout the night. The Mavericks did increase their lead to nine points early in the fourth quarter, but CSP responded with a 9-0 run of their own, capped off by an Ellie Gess three. Schmitt also hit a three-pointer down the stretch to tie the game at 72 before her big shot to give the Golden Bears the victory.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State comes into the matchup with the Golden Bears with a 3-1 record. CSP and MSU have played one common opponent, Northern Michigan. The Golden Bears were able to defeat the Wildcats 63-61 at home while the Mavericks traveled to Marquette, Mich. and fell 71-51.
After finishing last year with 13-17 record (10-12 NSIC), the Mavericks lost their top four scorers and were picked to finish 9th in the 2018-19 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Junior forward Taylor Drost leads the Mavericks in scoring this season, averagin 11 points per game on 53.1% shooting. Senior guard Monica Muth is not far behind, averaging 10.3 points per game on 46.9% from the floor. Muth also lead the team in assists (4.8) and is second in rebounds per game (4.3).
Other main contributors include sophomore forwards Rachel Shumski and Brooke Tonsfeldt. Shumski is third on the team in points per game with 7.8, while Tonsfeldt leads the team in rebounds per game (7.3) and has put up a solid 6.3 points per contest.
The Mavericks are averaging 78.5 points per game (5th NSIC) and allowing 62.8 points per game (12th NSIC). Minnesota State has been good in the turnover department, averaging a turnover margin of +6.00 per game, fourth in the conference.
The Mavericks have been able to collect a significant amount of blocks and steals this season season, averaging 4.25 blocks a game (3rd NSIC) and 10.75 steals (5th NSIC).
The Mavericks have been at their best in the second half, outscoring opponents by an average of 7.5 points in the 3rd quarter and 6.0 in the fourth.
KEY STATS
Lindsay Dorr was named the NSIC Player of the Week for her performances last weekend, averaging 22.5 points per game and 11 rebounds. Dorr also shot an efficient 20-36 (55.6%) from the floor.
The senior center leads the conference in points per game with 21.4. She is also second in the conference in field goal percentage at 61.8% and fifth in rebounding (9.4 per game).
Anna Schmitt has been a consistent scorer so far for the Golden Bears, putting up between 11 and 19 points in each of the five games CSP has played. Schmitt is averaging 15.2 points per game this season and currently ranks third on Concordia's all-time scoring list with 1,629 points.
In her first season with the Golden Bears, sophomore Sidney Wentland has shown potential to be a key player for CSP. The forward has broken out for 12 points per game in the last three contests after being held scoreless in the first two games of the year in limited minutes.
Senior Kyrah Fredenburg has been a force on the glass this season, averaging 9.0 rebounds per game. Along with Dorr, Fredenburg has been a big part of CSP's advantage in grabbing boards, as they have won the rebounding battle in four of their five games.
The Golden Bears have played their best basketball this season in the second and third quarters. CSP has started out slow in most contests (trailing after the first quarter in four of five  games), but has outscored their opponents in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters. That includes a +7.2 scoring margin in 2nd quarters and +6.0 margin in 3rd quarters.
If you can't make it to the game, view it live at cspbears.com/watch!
