ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team is set to face off against St. Cloud State (10-4, 7-3 NSIC) on Friday at 5:30 before hosting Minnesota Duluth (9-4, 8-2 NSIC) at 3:30. Both games will be held in the Gangelhoff Center, where the Golden Bears are 8-0 this season.

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend the Golden Bears went 2-0, securing wins against Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. CSP has now one seven of their last eight games.

Against SMSU, CSP used an offensive explosion to take an early lead and maintain it throughout the game, closing with an 86-65 victory. The Golden Bears shot 50.8% from the field on the game, and 58.3% from three. CSP ran away from the Mustangs in the second half, outscoring SMSU 30-16 in the third quarter.

Five Golden Bears scored in double digits, led by Sidney Wentland, who had 22 points as well as eight boards and five assists. Anna Schmitt (16 points, 9 assists) and Lindsay Dorr (14 points, 14 rebounds) also had big games for the Golden Bears.

The second contest of the weekend was much close, as CSP and Sioux Falls played closely throughout the game. Concordia was able to maintain a small lead for the duration of the fourth quarter, and converted free throws down the stretch to claim a 69-64 win.

Lindsay Dorr had a big game for the Bears in the win, tallying 22 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks. Kyrah Fredenburg also was a big contributor for the Golden Bears with 10 points and 14 rebounds, including nine offensive boards. CSP grabbed 20 offensive rebounds in the win, their most since 2015. Riley Wheatcraft also scored 14 points for Concordia, including two clutch three's in the fourth quarter.

ST. CLOUD STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears trail St. Cloud State 16-17 in the all-time series, but have had more success in recent years. CSP has won seven of the last nine matchups, including the last three at the Gangelhoff Center. Concordia is 7-4 at home against SCSU in program history.

LAST TIME AGAINST SCSU
The last time Concordia and St. Cloud State played was in the NSIC Tournament, with CSP claiming a 82-63 victory. The Golden Bears (#6 NSIC South) were able to upset the Huskies (#3 NSIC North) by beating them in their own gym, Halenbeck Hall.

Concordia had a great offensive performance in the win, shooting 58.5% from the floor and 65% from three. Anna Schmitt led all scorers with 28 points on 8-14 shooting (57.1%) while Hanna Vidlund scored 19 points on 5-6 (83.3%) shooting from three. Current assistant coach Hadyn Becker tied a career-high with 14 points, shooting 4-5 from downtown.

Concordia maintained the lead from the first quarter on in the win. The Huskies were able to cut it down to two points late in the third quarter, but the Golden Bears doubled up St. Cloud (28-14) in the final frame.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Tori Wortz leads the Huskies in scoring at 12.7 points per game. The sophomore guard has been especially dynamic lately, averaging 25.3 points per contest in the Huskies' last three games.  She recently scored 40 points against Bemidji State, and is shooting 40.7% from three and 87.2% from the line.

Mallie Doucette and Madelin Dammann have also been significant contributors. Doucette has come off of the bench this year, but is the team's second leading scorer at 12.6 points per game. She has also been playing well as of late, averaging 16.5 points in her last four contests. Dammann leads the Huskies in minutes per game (30.4) and is third on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game.

The Huskies have been stout on defense this season, ranking third in the conference by allowing just 56.7 points per game. They also rank second in the conference in blocks with 4.2 per game. St. Cloud will come into the Gangelhoff Center on Friday on a four-game winning streak.

MINNESOTA DULUTH SERIES HISTORY
Concordia trails the Bulldogs in the series history by just one game, as UMD leads 22-21. The Golden Bears have had more success in recent games, as CSP is 10-4 in the last fourteen matchups. CSP is 13-6 against UMD at home and has won the last six matchups between the two teams at the Gangelhoff Center.

LAST TIME AGAINST UMD
The Golden Bears last played against Minnesota Duluth on February 3rd, 2018. CSP fell 61-44 on the road to Duluth, as Concordia scored their second-lowest point total of the season.

Concordia's offense was stifled by the Bulldog defense, as CSP shot just 30.2% from the field and 15.8% from three. Lindsay Dorr led the Golden Bears with 12 points,and also tallied three rebounds and two blocks.

The Bulldogs held a 41-30 rebounding advantage in the game and capitalized on 13 second-chance points, compared to CSP's zero. Duluth had three players end up in double figures, including Ann Simonet (14), Sammy Kozlowski (13), and Emma Boehm (12).

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Minnesota Duluth features a balanced scoring attack, with seven players averaging between 6.3 points per game and 11.5. Their leading scorer is senior guard Sammy Kozlowski (11.5 ppg). Kozlowski also leads the team with 3.31 assists per game and leads the NSIC with 3.1 steals per game. She was the NSIC North Player of the Week last week, averaging 17.5 points per game, 5.5 steals, and 5.5 assists on the weekend.

The Bulldogs also have one of the top defenses in the NSIC, ranking first in opponent points per game at 52.1 (in conference play). They also lead in the NSIC in conference play with 10.80 steals per game and 18.7 turnovers forced per contest.

Minnesota Duluth has been disciplined on offense and defense this season with one of the league's slower paces. They have the best turnover margin in conference play (+7.5), as well as the best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.42).

KEY STATS
The Golden Bears have been excellent on their own home court, with an undefeated 8-0 record at the Gangelhoff Center. CSP has shot over 40% in six of their eight home games and has hit five or more threes in each home game.

Three-point shooting has been a key for the Golden Bears. They are 11-1 when making five or more threes in a game. Solid defense has also been a huge factor, as Concordia is 10-1 when they hold the opposition to under 40% shooting from the field.

Lindsay Dorr has been tough for opposing teams to handle under the basket. The senior center ranks third in the NSIC in scoring with 17.7 points per game, second in rebounding with 10.4 per game, and second in shooting percentage at 53.6%. Dorr has netted 14+ points in 14 of 15 games this season and her current shooting percentage would rank fifth in CSP history in a single season.

Two CSP players are close to breaking records for CSP. Anna Schmitt is 215 points behind Anika Whiting for the program record in scoring, while Kyrah Fredenburg is 63 rebounds behind Dana Christopher for the program's all-time record in boards. Schmitt would need to average just over 16.5 points a game for the rest of the season to break the scoirng record while Fredenburg needs to average 4.85 rebounds to have the most boards in CSP history. (Note: averages include one NSIC tournament game)

Sophomore transfer Riley Wheatcraft has been heating up lately, as she has hit 13-27 (48.1%) from three in her last five games. Wheatcraft has averaged 13.7 points per game over her last three contests and is shooting 43.8% from three on the season.