ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (9-17, 6-14 NSIC) is preparing for their final two games of the regular season as they will travel to Sioux Falls (14-10, 11-9 NSIC) and Southwest Minnesota State (5-18, 4-16 NSIC). After these games, the Bears will wait and see where they get seeded for the conference tournament that starts February 21st.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Bears are coming off a successful 2-0 weekend of conference play, where they defeated both Winona State and Upper Iowa. The team used different methods to win each game, using solid defense on Friday to beat Winona and having an active offense on Saturday to explode past Upper Iowa. Juniors Anna Schmitt and Lindsay Dorr had big weekends for the Bears, averaging 21.0 and 20.5 points per game, respectively. Dorr was also a force on the boards, averaging 10.0 rebounds per game.

In the Friday contest against Winona, the Bears held the Warriors to 49 points, which was the fewest points allowed by CSP all year. Concordia shot slightly better from the floor and from three, despite both teams shooting below 40.0%, but the Bears capitalized on ten more points from the line, which ended up being critical to the win. The Bears never allowed Winona to lead throughout the entire game, although the Warriors started the second half on an 11-0 run to tie the game with 4:41 left in the third quarter. The Bears quickly answered, though, with eight unanswered points of their own and led by six or more for the rest of the game, going on to win 59-49.

 Dorr and Schmitt led the offense in the game, combining for 33 of the team's 59 points. Dorr's 17-point, 13-rebound effort was good for her sixth double-double of the year and her 15th game in double figures. Schmitt ended with 16 points, which moved her up three more spots on CSP's all-time scoring list, passing head coach Amanda Johnson (1,423 career points) in the process.
Saturday's game featured a very active CSP offense, as the Bears drained 34 field goals, including 12 threes, which is the most threes Concordia has made in any game so far this season. The offense was also an efficient one, as the Bears shot 46.6% from the field and 42.9% from behind the arc. The Bears led by four after the first ten minutes of play, and stretched that lead to 17, after a 14-1 run to start the second frame. The Bears held the Warriors to only one field goal throughout the entire second quarter and outscored their opponents 22-6. The Peacocks made a run in both the third and fourth quarters, but each time the Bears answered with force, keeping the game out of reach. The Bears went on to win 87-59, which is the most points that Concordia has scored all-season in a game that did not go into overtime.

Four Golden Bears reached double figures in the contest, and the team was once again led by Schmitt and Dorr, who combined for 50 points. Schmitt ended with a game-high 26 points, shooting an impressive 61.1% (11-18) from the floor and 66.7% (4-6) from three. Dorr finished right behind Schmitt, with 24 points, while also tallying seven rebounds, four steals, and three blocks. Senior Haydn Becker compiled her first career double-double in the game, with ten points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Freshman Ellie Gess was the final CSP player in double figures, ending with ten points.
 
SIOUX FALLS SERIES HISTORY
The Bears started playing Sioux Falls in 2012 and since then have posted an 8-4 record against the Cougars. CSP won the first six matchups against USF, not losing from 2012 to 2015, and winning by double digits in all but one of those victories. Concordia had won the last two contests against Sioux Falls, before the Cougars won this season's previous matchup. The Bears are 3-2 when playing against the Cougars in Sioux Falls and won 62-51 in their last away matchup.
 
LAST MEETING VS USF
The Bears last faced Sioux Falls on January 20^th of this year, when the Cougars shot lights out to gain an 84-56 win at the Gangelhoff Center. In the contest, Sioux Falls connected on 51.8% (29-56) of their shots, including draining 50.0% (13-26) of their three-point attempts. The Bears were held to lesser percentages (29.3% from the field and 13.3% from three), but did earn more points from the line, holding a 20-13 edge. The Cougars' Mariah Szymanski was crucial in the victory, as she put up 43 points, which included hitting nine threes in ten attempts.
 Sioux Falls got ahead early in the first quarter, and held the Bears to only three points in the second quarter  to lead by 15 at the half. A big third quarter for the Cougars put the game out of reach for the Bears and Sioux Falls went on to win 84-56.
Schmitt and Dorr were the only Golden Bears to end in double-figures, with 17 and 13 points, respectively. Dorr was also strong on the boards, collecting a game-high 13 rebounds.  

ABOUT THE COUGARS
The Cougars are 14-10 on the year and 11-9 in the NSIC, and they are in third place in the South Division heading into the final weekend of the regular season. Most recently Sioux Falls is coming off a 1-1 conference weekend, defeating #5 Augustana in overtime before falling to Wayne State the following day.
 
The team is averaging 65.4 points per game, while shooting 39.3% from the field and 33.4% from behind the arc. They are also averaging 37.2 rebounds and 13.1 turnovers per game.
 
The Cougars have eight players returning to their 2017-18 roster and are a very young squad as 16 out of 18 players are freshman or sophomores. USF has three players averaging double digit points with sophomore Kaely Hummel as their leading scorer, averaging 16.1 points per game. Freshman Jasmine Harris and Szymanski are the other two who average 10+ points a game, averaging 13.0 and 12.3 points, respectively. Junior Jacey Huinker is their leading rebounder, with 10.1 boards per game, which is second highest in the NSIC. 
 
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears own an impressive 37-16 all-time record against the Mustangs and are 29-8 against them in conference contests. In their last 34 meetings, the Bears have won 31 times, only losing once in 2005 and once in 2011, and have won the last 12 straight. CSP has posted a 13-5 away record against SMSU and the last time that the Bears lost to the Mustangs in Marshall was in December of 2011.
 
 
LAST MEETING VS SMSU
The last time that these two teams met, the game was decided in the last seconds of overtime, as Schmitt hit a buzzer-beater three from well behind the arc to break a 94-94 tie and lift the Bears to victory. CSP's 97-point effort is the most points that Concordia has scored since January 17th, 2015, when they scored 103 in a win over Bemidji State.

Concordia led by 11 at the half and held onto their double digit lead for the majority of the third quarter, but the Mustangs started to chip away in the fourth, getting the game within one with 34 seconds left. Schmitt hit two free throws with 23 seconds left in the game to give the Bears a three point lead, but then Caleigh Rodning hit a three with 14 seconds left to tie it and send it to overtime. The overtime was close all the way through, but a free-throw from Haydn Becker put the Bears up three with 18 seconds left. That lead was quickly erased by an SMSU three with only eight seconds left in the game. Just when it looked like the game was headed to double overtime, Schmitt made a last-second three to win it for the Bears.

Concordia shot an impressive 48.6% from the floor, including connecting on 47.6% of their three-point attempts, which are the best percentages that the Bears have posted since November of 2017. Every Golden Bear who got in the game scored in the victory and the team also posted a season-high 21 assists, with junior Hanna Vidlund dishing out a career-high seven.
 
Schmitt registered a career-high 37 points in the contest, which topped Jineen Williams' 36-point mark for most points in a game in Concordia's Division II-era, which was set back in 2010. The junior guard put together an impressive shooting performance, hitting 12-21 shots from the floor (57.1%), including connecting on four out of five threes (80.0%). Also ending in double figures for the Bears was Dorr and Gess. Dorr finished with 19 points and nabbed a career-high 16 boards, ten of which were on the offensive end, to tie the tenth most in any CSP game. Gess ended with 16 points and, like Schmitt, shot 80.0% (4-5) from behind the arc.
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
Southwest Minnesota State is 5-18 on the year and 4-16 in the NSIC and are most recently coming off losses to Wayne State and #5 Augustana. Their most recent win was on February 3^rd against University of Mary when the Mustangs won 73-58 at home.
 
The team is averaging 62.6 points, while allowing 71.9 points per game on average. The Mustangs are shooting 36.2% from the field and 28.8% from three, which are lower percentages than their opponents, but SMSU does average a higher free-throw percentage. The team also averages fewer rebounds and more turnovers than their opponents.
 
The Mustangs return seven players and add seven freshman to complete their roster. Caleigh Rodning is their leading scorer, averaging 13.1 points per game. The sophomore forward also leads her team in rebounding, averaging 7.5 boards a game. Freshman Erin Baxter is their next leading scorer, registering 10.7 points per game and freshman Sadie Stelter is their leader in assists, with 48 on the year so far.
 
 
KEY STATS
-Anna Schmitt averaged 21.0 points on the weekend, while also averaging 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals. Schmitt's 42 points helped her move up five spots in the CSP all-time scoring list (including passing head coach Amanda Johnson) and is now tied with Dana Christopher (1987-91) in fifth with 1,453 career points.
-Schmitt ranks first in the NSIC in scoring (19.3 ppg), second in free-throw percentage (89.1%), eighth in three-point percentage (41.9%), fourth in three-pointers made (2.0), and ninth in minutes played (32.0).
-Lindsay Dorr averaged 20.5 points and 10.0 rebounds on the weekend and compiled her sixth double-double of the year in the win over Winona State, with her 17-point, 13-rebound effort.
-Dorr ranks 11^th in the NSIC in rebounding (7.2), 12^th in blocked shots (1.2), ninth in offensive rebounds (2.3), and ninth in defensive rebounds (4.9).
-Haydn Becker nabbed her first career double-double against Upper Iowa, scoring ten points and securing 11 rebounds.