ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (7-3, 3-2 NSIC) defeated Winona State (5-3, 2-2 NSIC) 53-49 at the Gangelhoff Center late Saturday afternoon.
Anna Schmitt came up clutch down the stretch, as she ended the game on a 5-0 run of her own to lead the Golden Bears to the win. With CSP down one with 1:43 left in the game, Schmitt made a hesitation move to convert a layup before sinking a left-handed floater at the end of the shot clock on the next possession. After another stop for Concordia, the senior guard would seal the game with a free throw with five seconds to go.
Kyrah Fredenburg had a big game for the Golden Bears, racking up 16 rebounds after securing 14 last night against Upper Iowa. Fredenburg also pitched in eight points, three assists, and two steals. Lindsay Dorr was also a big contributor, collecting 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. The senior center has scored 14+ points in all 10 games this season.
Sidney Wentland was able to affect the game in a variety of ways, scoring eight points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing out six assists. Lexi Lee was also able to provide a boost to the Golden Bears from the point guard position, scoring eight points and distributing three assists.
The game was tight throughout, as neither team had bigger lead than six points. Many of the team statistics were close to even at the conclusion of the game, though the Golden Bears did have an edge in rebounding (38-33) and shooting percentage (38.9% to 34%). CSP had a balanced scoring attack, as six players had six or more points.
The Warriors also spread their scoring out, as Rachel Novotny led with 11 points while Gabbie Doud (10 points) and Julia Silloway (9 points) also contributed for Winona State.
The Golden Bears would get out to a quick 4-0 lead on baskets by Wentland and Schmitt. CSP and WSU traded baskets for the majority of the first quarter before the Warriors went on a 11-3 run to close the ten-minute period, capped by a buzzer-beating jumper by Kayla Schaefer to take a 17-12 lead.
The Warriors would continue to maintain their lead in the second quarter and were up 25-19 about halfway through the quarter. Lee then took over for the Golden Bears, as the senior point guard went on an 8-0 run by herself. Lee hit two three's (sandwiched by a contested layup) to give the Golden Bears a 27-25 lead. A Lindsay Dorr free throw gave the Golden Bears a 28-25 halftime lead, a CSP finished the second quarter on a 10-0 run.
The third quarter did not feature much offense for either team, as CSP shot 3-13 with five turnovers, while Winona State went 4-11 with four turnovers. Winona State won the quarter 13-8 to take a 38-36 lead into the fourth quarter.
From the last half of the third quarter until an Anna Schmitt jumper with 7:40 left to play, the teams went a combined 7:58 without a made field goal. Winona State did make two free throws over that period of time, but those were the only points scored.
The teams traded baskets down the stretch in a back-and-forth final three minutes of the fourth quarter. After a Lindsay Dorr elbow jumper tied the game at 45, Novotny sank a mid-range jump shot of her own to give the Warriors a two-point lead with 2:21 to go.
Dorr went back to work under the basket for the Golden Bears, finishing a layup while getting fouled and converting the free throw to give CSP a 48-47 lead. Novotny answered back with two free throws of her own with 1:43 to go before Schmitt closed the game with five straight points for the Golden Bears.
The Golden Bears will have a little more than two weeks off before their next contest, which will also be against Minnesota State at the Gangelhoff Center. That game will be played on Sunday, December 30th at 2 p.m.
