Women's Basketball | 12.5.18
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (4-2, 0-1 NSIC) will hit the road this weekend for a couple of NSIC games against Sioux Falls (5-1, 1-0 NSIC) and Southwest Minnesota State (3-3, 0-1 NSIC). CSP will face the Cougars at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7th before matching up with the Mustangs at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8th.
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears opened their conference season last weekend, falling to Minnesota State in Mankato by a score of 83-60. A tough first half sunk the Golden Bears, as CSP trailed 48-22 at halftime.
Concordia followed a season trend of starting out slow in a first quarter, but unlike previous games, were unable to bounce back. CSP trailed 24-10 after one quarter of play, and the Mavericks continued to grow their lead in the second quarter. MSU had success inside and outside, winning the points in the paint battle 18-8 in the first half and making 7-13 from three.
CSP was able to to win the second half 38-35, but couldn't cut the deficit to less than 17 points. Lindsay Dorr led the team with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Lexi Lee set a career high with 14 points, also pitching in four rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
SIOUX FALLS SERIES HISTORY
Concordia holds a 9-4 record against the Cougars, and has won three of the last four games in the matchup. CSP and USF split their season series last year, with both teams claiming victories on the road.
LAST MEETING WITH USF
The Golden Bears and the Cougars last faced off in Sioux Falls on February 16th, with CSP claiming a 74-56 victory.
Juniors Lindsay Dorr and Anna Schmitt were instrumental in that win, as Dorr scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Schmitt scored 19 and dished out three assists. Both were very efficient from the floor, as Dorr went 10-13 (76.9%) and Schmitt went 8-13 (61.5%).
Six other Golden Bears scored in the contest, including four CSP players off the bench, outscoring Sioux Falls' bench 23-15. Junior Lexi Lee and freshman Sydney Weierke each ended with seven points apiece, which was a career-high mark for Weierke.
After a slow start to the game, the the Golden Bears caught fire at the end of the first quarter. They would carry the momentum all the way into the third quarter, as they led 60-37 with 10 minutes to go and coasted to the victory. CSP shot 51.7% from the field, their first 50%+ shooting percentage of the season.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
Sioux Falls comes into their matchup with CSP with a 5-1 record (1-0 NSIC). The Cougars were picked to finish first in the conference in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
USF has been one of the more efficient offensive teams in the conference, scoring 79.2 points per game (3rd NSIC) on 42.9% shooting (4th NSIC). The Cougars have also been stout on defense, limiting their opponents to 51.5 points per game (1st NSIC) on 34.6% shooting (3rd NSIC).
The Cougars have a balanced scoring attack, with eight players averaging six points or more. USF is led by junior guard Kaely Hummel, who is averaging 12.8 points per game. Freshman forward Krystal Carlson is second on the team in scoring with 8.7 points per game. Freshman guard Hannah Jones leads the team with 6.3 rebounds per game, and also has pitched in 7.2 points per game.
The Cougars have been one of the top teams in the nation in the turnover department. USF forces the most turnovers in the NSIC with 23.0 per game and has turned over the ball the least (12.2). Their turnover margin of +10.83 ranks fourth in the country.
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears lead the all-time series against SMSU 38-16. However, CSP has won the last 11 matchups. In their last 36 matchups, Concordia has posted a dominant 33-3 record against the Mustangs. Last year, Concordia swept the season series against SMSU (2-0), but both games were within three points at the final buzzer.
LAST MEETING WITH SMSU
CSP last met the Mustangs on their home court at the Gangelhoff Center, defeating them 70-68. Concordia withstood a big 4th quarter comeback from the Mustangs to collect their fourth straight win.
The Golden Bears jumped out to a 23-13 lead after the first quarter, and expanded the margin the margin with a 40-27 halftime score. CSP took a 24-point lead into the fourth quarter, and were able to hold off a furious Mustang rally down the stretch as a last-second SMSU jumper bounced out.
Lindsay Dorr and Anna Schmitt led in scoring for CSP, as both poured in 18 points in the win. Dorr also corralled 12 rebounds on the evening, while Schmitt had five assists. Hanna Vidlund was also instrumental in the win, scoring 16 points and collecting five assists and five rebounds.
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
Southwest Minnesota State comes into their matchup with the Golden Bears with a a 3-3 record (0-1 NSIC). SMSU was picked to finish 12th in the NSIC and 7th in the NSIC South Division.
Through six games, the Mustangs have been one of the higher scoring teams in the conference, averaging 74.7 points per game (5th NSIC). However, they also rank last in the NSIC in points allowed with a mark of 72.0 per game.
The Mustangs' junior forward Caleigh Rodning has gotten off to a strong start this season, averaging 18.2 points per contest (3rd NSIC). Rodning has been very efficient, hitting 51.7% of her shots, including 56% from three. Rodning also has been good from the free throw line, where she is shooting 94.6% on 37 attempts. She also leads the team with 8.8 rebounds per game.
Meleah Reinhart and Erin Baxter also are averaging double digit points per game for the Mustangs. Reinhart averages 12.3 points per contest, including averaging 17.3 in her last three games. Baxter has put up 11.3 points per game, and is also tied for the team lead in assists with 11 on the season.
As a team, the Mustangs are apt to shoot the three-pointer, with 176 attempted on the year (29.3 per game). SMSU has made an average on 9.8 per threes game, good for 2nd in the NSIC and 11th in the country.
KEY STATS
Lindsay Dorr leads the Golden Bears and the NSIC in scoring with 20.8 points per game. Dorr is also third in the conference shooting 53.5% from the floor and fifth in rebounding with 9.2 boards per game. The senior center has scored 14+ point in each game, including four games of 20+ point scoring.
Anna Schmitt has also provided consistent offense with 14.0 points per game. The senior guard is close to second place in CSP's all-time scoring rankings, as she comes into the weekend with 1,637 career points, just ten points behind Jennifer Pozzani.
Kyrah Fredenburg has come back to be a consistent force on glass for the Golden Bears after missing nearly all of last season. The senior guard is fourth in conference with 9.3 rebounds per game, and is tied with her head coach, Amanda Johnson (Behnke), for fourth all-time in rebounds for CSP (726).
The Golden Bears have played their best basketball in the second and third quarters of games so far this season. CSP has outscored opponents by and average of 4.0 points in the second quarter of games and by 6.0 points in the third.
CSP has corralled 13.2 offensive rebounds per game, good for 3rd in the NSIC. The Golden Bears collected 18 offensive rebounds in their NSIC opener against Minnesota State.
