ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Golden Bear women's basketball team (13-17, 8-14 NSIC) is preparing to take on Winona State (16-12, 10-12 NSIC) in the NSIC tournament semifinals at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. If the Bears win, they will play the following day in the NSIC championship.
 
Concordia and Winona both upset their opponents in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinal game; CSP, the #6 seed in the South Division, defeated the #2 seed in the South Division, Wayne State, and Winona State, the #4 seed in the South Division, defeated the #1 seed in the North Division, Northern State.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Bears are coming off their sixth straight win, with their second playoff win of the 2017-18 season, with an 80-70 win over Wayne State. Concordia got on the board first and lead for the majority of the game. At one point in the second quarter, the Bears led by as much as 14, but the Wildcats got the game back within six as the two teams headed into the halftime break.
 
Concordia went up by 12 again in the first part of the third quarter, but it was a one-point game heading into the final frame. It was tied at 63 with a little under four minutes to play and the Bears eventually got up by four with a minute left, forcing Wayne State to foul. The Bears hit nine free-throws in the final minute and Concordia's defense got four stops to secure the win.
 
CSP shot a solid 50.8% (30-59) from the field, which is the third time that the Bears have shot over 50% in the past four games. Juniors Lindsay Dorr and Anna Schmitt were the top scorers in the game, scoring 25 points apiece, which was a career-high mark for Dorr. Hanna Vidlund added 14, while also compiling seven rebounds and a career-high 11 assists.
 
WINONA STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Bears are 30-18 against the Warriors since starting to play them in 1977. From February 2007 to February 2011 Concordia defeated Winona State in each of their meetings, leading to an eight game win streak for the Bears. Since then, smaller win streaks have gone back and forth between the two teams. Last season, CSP defeated Winona on December 10^th, 2016 which broke a five game losing streak for the Bears against the Warriors. The Bears most recently defeated Winona less than three weeks ago on February 9^th.

LAST MEETING VS WSU
The Bears defeated Wayne State 59-49 in their last meeting on February 9^th, 2018 at the Gangelhoff Center. The Warrior's 49 points marked the Bears' best defensive effort on the season. CSP was also active on the offensive end, draining 11 threes and scoring 16 points off of second chances.
 
Concordia led by 11 at the half, but Winona State quickly erased that lead by scoring the first 11-points of the second half, while also holding the Bears scoreless for the first eight minutes of the third quarter. The Bears scored the last eight of the quarter, though, to head into the final frame leading 41-33. CSP was able to keep their lead in the fourth and went on to win by ten.
 
Dorr was the leading scorer for the Bears, scoring 17, while also tallying 13 rebounds. Schmitt was right behind her, with 16 points of her own. CSP shot 85.7% from the free-throw line in the game, scoring ten more points from the charity stripe than the Warriors.
 
ABOUT THE WARRIORS
Winona State is 16-12 on the year and 10-12 in conference play. The team is averaging 65.5 points per game, while posting a solid .430 field goal percentage while holding their opponents to a .400 percentage. Winona also tends to shoot better from three than their opponents, shooting .362 from beyond the arc, compared to their opponents' .319. The team averages 34.0 boards per game and one less turnover per game than their opponents.
 
Winona returns seven players and adds six new players to their young roster that features only four juniors or seniors. Senior forward Hannah McGlone is the team's top scorer, averaging 13.6 points per game. McGlone also has a strong presence on the boards, averaging 10.1 rebounds per game, which is highest in the conference. Freshman guard Allie Pickrain is also averaging double figures, with 13.0 points per game, while also leading her team in assists with 3.0 per game.
 
NSIC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Concordia has a 26-10 record in 14 previous trips to the NSIC Tournament. CSP has taken home the title four times ('05, '07, '08, '14) and has reached the tournament final seven times. The last time that the Bears have made the NSIC tournament semifinals was back in 2014, when they went on to win the conference and regional tournaments to compete in the NCAA Division II national quarterfinal game.
 
LAST YEAR IN THE TOURNAMENT
The Bears hosted Minnesota Crookston in the first round of the tournament last season, falling 77-73 to the Golden Eagles. Concordia trailed by eight at the half, but the third quarter belonged to the Bears, as they held Crookston to only five points throughout the quarter, while scoring 23 themselves. After allowing the Eagles to score the first basket of the half, the Bears went on a 19-0 run, eventually leading by ten heading into the final frame.
 
Crookston started to chip away at this lead, eventually taking the lead with 1:39 left in the game. The Bears quickly tied it with a free-throw, but then UMC hit a three with 30 seconds left to reclaim the lead. The Bears then missed a three and were forced to foul. With the Eagles knocking down both free-throws, they led by five. The Bears scored and fouled again, with UMC only hitting one free-throw this time. The Bears got off two shots in their final possession, but neither fell and the Eagles won by four.
 
The Eagles shot 50.0% from the field and from deep, which topped CSP's numbers, as the Bears shot 40.9% from the field and a meager 19.0% from three. Caitlyn Russell and Schmitt were the top scorers, scoring 24 and 21 points, respectively. The Bears capitalized on 19 points off turnovers and 17 second chance points, but the Eagles were clutch in the final minutes, coming up with the victory.
 
STATS DURING THE SIX-GAME WIN STREAK
-Lindsay Dorr has been a major factor in the six-game win streak, averaging 19.2 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. The junior center has shot 54.7% from the floor, recording 115 points in the past six games, including a career-high 25 against Wayne State. Dorr is also averaging 3.0 blocks per game.
-Anna Schmitt has also been a huge scoring threat, averaging 22.0 points per game, while also helping teammates score, dishing out 4.3 assists per game. The Waconia native has shot 53.3% from the field, including connecting on 46.7% of her three-point attempts.
-Hanna Vidlund has shot especially well in the past six games, hitting 52.9% of her three-pointers, while also averaging 8.7 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game.
-Haydn Becker has been a force on the boards, averaging 6.0 rebounds per game in the past six contests, while also draining 13 threes, for a 54.2% three-point percentage. She has been averaging 7.7 points per game and scored 14 against St. Cloud State, which ties her career-high.
-The team is shooting 46.9% from the floor, including 41.4% from deep, while holding their opponents to shooting below 40% in both categories.