ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (7-3, 3-2 NSIC) is set to host Minnesota State (5-4, 2-3 NSIC) on Sunday, December 30th at 2 p.m. in the Gangelhoff Center. This will be the first game for both teams since December 15th.
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears extended their winning streak to three game last weekend, picking up two wins at the Gangelhoff Center. CSP defeated Upper Iowa 85-43 on Dec. 14th before beating Winona State 53-49 on Dec. 15th.
Concordia came into the weekend firing against Upper Iowa, leading 21-6 after one quarter and 38-16 at halftime. CSP made 10-22 from three-point range to take and maintain their lead against the Peacocks.
The Golden Bears got contributions from nearly the whole roster, as 12 CSP players scored. Lindsay Dorr led the team with 18 points, while Anna Schmitt pitched in 16 points. Kyrah Fredenburg racked up 14 rebounds, also scoring seven points in the win. Concordia scored 38 bench points en route to their biggest margin of victory (+42) since the 2015-16 season.
CSP's matchup against Winona State was a different story, as the Golden Bears were unable to execute as well on the offensive end as they were the night before. However, strong defense and timely shots down the stretch gave Concordia their third straight conference win.
Trailing 47-45 with just over three minutes to go, the Golden Bears closed the game on a 8-2 run. Schmitt ended the game on a 5-0 run of her own, scoring a left-handed layup on a hesitation move, hitting a lefty floater at the end of the shot clock, and making a free throw to seal the game.
Fredenburg had another big game on the glass, wrangling 16 rebounds while scoring eight points. Dorr was once again a big-time contributor, scoring seven of her 14 points in the fourth quarter.
MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and the Mavericks are tied in the all-time series, 19-19. The matchups between the two teams have been especially back-and-forth in recent years, as the teams have alternated wins in each of the last eight games. Concordia has been better against MSU at home, with a 10-5 record facing the Mavericks in the Gangelhoff Center.
PREVIOUS MATCHUP AGAINST MSU
Concordia and Minnesota State opened NSIC play with a matchup in Mankato on December 1st. The Mavericks jumped out a big lead in the first quarter (24-10) and never looked back, claiming a 83-60 victory.
Lindsay Dorr led the Golden Bears in the scoring column with 18 points, also contributing eight rebounds. Lexi Lee pitched in 14 points and four rebounds in the loss. Minnesota State held Concordia to 31.1% shooting while making 43.5% of their own shots.
Minnesota State shot well from the floor, especially in the first half. The Mavericks made 7-13 from three in their first 20 minutes to take a 48-22 halftime lead. The Golden Bears would win the second half scoring, but were unable to close the gap to less than 17 points.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State features a balanced scoring attack, as eight players average 6+ points per game while none of the Mavericks have scored more than 10.9 points per contest. The Mavericks have had success inside, as five of those top eight scorers are 5'10 or taller, and three are above six feet tall.
MSU has dominated on the glass, especially in conference play. The Mavericks have a rebounding margin of +11.0 per game (1st NSIC) and have corralled an average of 16.6 offensive boards in their five conference contests (1st NSIC).
Steals and assists have been two other areas that the Mavericks have excelled. MSU is second in the NSIC with 18.0 dimes per game and lead the conference by swiping 10.4 steals per contest.
Junior Taylor Drost leads the team with 10.9 points per game on 42.9% shooting. Sophomore Rachel Shumski is second with 9.9 points per contest, and contributes with 6.8 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Brooke Tonsfeldt has also been a top contributor with 7.9 points per game, and is tied for fifth in the NSIC with 22 steals.
KEY STATS
Lindsay Dorr has continued to provide consistent quality performances for the Golden Bears down around the basket. The senior center has scored 14+ points in all 10 games this season, and is leading the team with 19 points per game (2nd NSIC). Dorr has also been one of the best in the conference in rebounding (9.7 per game, 3rd NSIC) and field goal percentage (54.4%, 2nd NSIC).
Anna Schmitt ranks second in program history with 1,705 career points. If the senior guard averages 15.4 points per game or more the rest of the season, she will become CSP's all-time leading scorer. Anika Whiting currently holds the record with 1,982 points. Schmitt has averaged 15.2 points per game so far in the 2018-19 season.
Kyrah Fredenburg showed her prowess on the glass in Concordia's last two games, corralling 30 rebounds. The senior forward moved into third place all-time in Concordia's rebounding rankings with 762 boards. Dana Christopher currently holds the record with 871 boards. Fredenburg needs to average 6.1 rebounds per game (or more) to become CSP's all-time leading rebounder. The 5th-year senior was a +34 in the two games last weekend.
Concordia has been one the better teams in the NSIC in getting the to the free throw line. The Golden Bears average 19.4 free throws per game, fifth in the NSIC. Dorr is second in the NSIC with 61 free throw attempts on the year (6.1 per game).
The Golden Bears have been at their best after the first quarter this year. CSP has outscored opponents by 9.2 points on average in the second, third, and fourth quarters combined.
