KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Concordia St. Paul women's basketball team (0-1) played their first game of the 2018-19 season against Harding (Ark.) (1-0), falling to the Bison, 59-54.

A tight contest throughout, the Golden Bears trailed the Bison for most of the game before taking the lead at the end of the third quarter. A back-and-forth final quarter ended in an 6-0 Harding run, which sealed the victory for the Bison.

The first points of the game (and season) were scored by Anna Schmitt, preseason NSIC South Player of Year. Schmitt led the Golden Bears in scoring by putting up 17 points on 7-19 shooting, also grabbing six rebounds.

The Golden Bears would not regain the lead again until there was five seconds left in the third quarter, as Harding took control. The Bison led 14-5 after the first quarter, as the Golden Bears shot just 2-13 in the opening 10 minutes.

The second quarter was a different story as CSP went 8-18 from the field (44.4%) and also hit the glass hard, scoring eight second chance points in the quarter. The Golden Bears managed to trim Harding lead down by three points, trailing the Bison 30-24 at the half.

The Golden Bears used a strong third quarter to continue to cut the deficit and eventually take the lead. Schmitt scored seven straight points to close out the quarter, converting two free throws, sinking a three-point shot, and making a layup to give the Golden bears a 44-43 lead heading into the final quarter.

The teams would trade punches in the fourth quarter with five lead changes. Schmitt's layup with 1:32 left to go in the game gave the Golden Bears a 53-52 lead. Harding sophomore Kellie Lampo answered back with a layup with 1:14 to give the Bison a one-point advantage. After a Concordia missed three-pointer, Lampo made another layup before another CSP missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with seven seconds to go. Harding would seal the game with two made free throws.

Lindsay Dorr had a productive night for the Golden Bears, as the center shot 6-11 from the floor. Dorr was second on the team with 14 points, also corralling nine rebounds and picking up a block and steal. Senior Kyrah Fredenburg also provided the Golden Bears with a boost in her first action since last November, collecting a team-leading 13 rebounds. Senior Hanna Vidlund also chipped in eight points and seven boards.

It was a tough shooting night for the Golden Bears, as they went 21-59 (35.6%) from the floor and 3-18 (16.7%) from three. CSP did win the rebounding battle though, collecting 44 boards to Harding's 37.

The Golden Bears will have their next test tomorrow against Washburn (Kan.), as they face off against the Ichabods in their second and final game of the Central Region Challenge. That contest can be heard through a Washburn radio broadcast at https://prod-54-184-37-160.wostreaming.net/alphacorporate-ktpkfmmp3-ibc4?session-id=c7e85fd4d0ff857bc7dcf5af88762e58&source=wu. Live stats will be available at this link: https://wusports.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary.