MANKATO, Minn. - The Concordia St. Paul women's basketball team (4-2, 0-1 NSIC) fell to Minnesota State (4-1, 1-0 NSIC) in the NSIC season opener, as the Mavericks defeated the Golden Bears 83-60 at the Taylor Center.
Lindsay Dorr led the Golden Bears with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Lexi Lee pitched in 14 points and four rebounds.
For the Mavericks, Rachel Shumski collected  15 points and 11 rebounds while Kristen Klitze contributed 14 points and five boards. MSU demonstrated a balanced scoring attack, with nine players scoring 5 or more points.
The Golden Bears started out cold from the floor, shooting 4-18 in the first quarter. After trading baskets to start the game, the Mavericks went on a 7-0 run to make the score 9-2. The Mavericks were also able to close the quarter on a 9-1 run to take a 24-10 lead into the second quarter.
The second quarter featured similar play, as the Mavericks used another run to take a 48-22 lead into halftime. After a couple of Ellie Gess free throws brought the score to 31-16 with 6:22 left in the 2nd quarter, Minnesota State closed the quarter on a 17-6 run, capped off by a three-point shot right before the buzzer.
CSP had  tough time defending the Mavericks inside in the first half, Minnesota State was able to get to the basket regularly and led 18-8 on points in the paint. The Mavericks were also clicking on all cylinders from three, shooting 7-13 (53.8%) through two quarters.
The Golden Bears were able to gain some traction in the third quarter, winning the ten-minute stint 22-16. CSP closed the quarter with a 9-0 run, trailing 64-44 going into the fourth.
The Golden Bears were unable to carry the momentum and break through in fourth quarter, as the Mavericks won the final quarter by a score of 19-16. CSP was able to string some stops together, but couldn't cut the deficit to less than 17.
Minnesota State held Concordia to 31.1% shooting while making 43.5% of their own shots. CSP was only able to sink 2-14 three-point shots, while the Mavericks made 8-18.
The Golden Bears will hit the road again next weekend as they take on Sioux Falls at 5:30 on Friday, Dec. 7th and Southwest Minnesota State at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8th.
