ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (8-17, 5-14 NSIC) played some solid defense on Friday night against Winona State (13-10, 9-10 NSIC), which helped them seal a 59-49 win at the Gangelhoff Center over the Warriors.
 
The Warriors' 49 points marked the Bears' best defensive effort so far this year, as it was the fewest points allowed on the season.  The Bears were active on the offensive end, as well, draining 11 threes throughout the contest, which is tied for the most threes in a game this year. Winona battled all game, threatening to take over the lead, but the Bears held strong, never allowing the Warriors to lead throughout the entire forty minutes.
 
Juniors Lindsay Dorr and Anna Schmitt were key in the victory, combining for 33 of the team's 59 points. Dorr racked up her sixth double-double of the season, finishing with a game-high 17 points and 13 rebounds, four of which were on the offensive end. Dorr's points were efficient, as she hit 50.0% of her shots from the floor and hit five out of six from the line.
 
Schmitt scored 16 in the win, and moved up another three spots on the CSP all-time scoring list, and now sits in seventh with 1,427 career points. Included in the past Concordia players that Schmitt passed with Friday's efforts was her head coach, Amanda Johnson, who finished her CSP career with 1,423 points.
 
A few other Golden Bears had notable nights, playing important roles in the win. Behind Dorr and Schmitt, junior Kayla Miller finished with nine points, while also securing four boards, dishing out two assists, and tallying a steal. Junior Hanna Vidlund, despite having no points of her own, created a lot of offense for others, compiling a game-high six assists. Senior Haydn Becker also put together a solid performance, ending with eight points and six rebounds.
 
The Bears started with intensity, scoring the first five points of the game. The Warriors answered with five of their own, for the first of two ties in the contest. CSP then went on an 11-3 run, as Becker, Schmitt, and Miller all hit threes in addition to two free-throws from Dorr. The Bears led 18-11 at the end of the first ten minutes.
 
In the middle of the second quarter, the Bears went on a 9-2 run to stretch their lead out to 13 and would enter halftime up by 11. The scoring was spread out for CSP in the quarter, as five different players scored three points each.
 
The Warriors bounced back to start the second half, though, erasing the 11-point Golden Bear lead with 11 straight points of their own to start the quarter, while holding the Golden Bears scoreless for the first eight minutes. With the hot start, Winona tied it up, for the second time in the contest. The Bears did not allow the Warriors to take the lead, though, answering with the last eight points of the quarter, to lead 41-33 heading into the final frame.
 
The fourth quarter was an offensive one, with 33 total points being scored, which was the most of any quarter. A layup from Winona's Hannah McGlone got the game the Warriors within six with 2:31 left in the game, but that was as close as they would get, as the Bears went on to win 59-49.
 
The Warriors were led by senior McGlone who finished with 12 points and 13 boards in her 21 minutes of play. Teammate Gabie Doud joined McGlone in double digits, ending with ten points, while also securing seven rebounds.
 
The Golden Bears are back in action tomorrow, February 10^th, when they take on Upper Iowa for their last home game of the regular season. Haydn Becker and Kayla Miller, the team's two seniors, will be honored during tomorrow's game for their contributions to the CSP program. Game time is 4 p.m. If you can't make it in person, follow along at cspbears.com/watch.