ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (13-4, 9-3 NSIC) will hit the road to take on Augustana (17-4, 9-3 NSIC) on Saturday, January 26th at 3:30 before facing off against Wayne State (12-6 , 7-5 NSIC) on Sunday, January 27th at 1:30. The winner of the Concordia-Augustana game on Saturday will take sole possession of first place in the NSIC South.
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears hosted two of the top teams in the NSIC North last week (St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth), coming away with two victories and extending their winning streak to five games. The Golden Bears are now 10-0 at home this season.
Concordia used a late fourth-quarter run to claim their first victory of the weekend. The Golden Bears trailed St. Cloud State 47-45 with 5:30 to go in the game before closing the contest on an 18-3 run. That included a 12-0 burst to lead CSP to a 63-50 victory, as the Huskies missed six straight shots down the stretch.
Lindsay Dorr was solid down low once again for the Golden Bears, as the senior center scored 19 points (7-14 shooting) and grabbed 11 rebounds. Three other CSP seniors also scored in double figures, including Lexi Lee (13 points), Anna Schmitt (12 points, 7 assists), and Kyrah Fredenburg (10 points, 13 rebounds).
CSP faced off against Minnesota Duluth in their next contest, playing a Bulldogs team that had a 9-2 mark in the NSIC was riding a three-game winning streak. The Golden Bears were victorious in a defensive battle, as the final scoreboard read 51-47 in favor of CSP.
Concordia once again used stout defense to secure the victory, as the Bulldogs shot just 32.8% from the floor and 25% from three. Concordia held UMD to just 11 points in the fourth quarter and just two field goals for the last six and half minutes of the game.
Dorr led the Golden Bears with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Schmitt contributed 11 points and seven assists. Lexi Lee also scored eight points (including five in the final minutes), while Kyrah Fredenburg added seven points and 11 rebounds.
AUGUSTANA SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears are 11-16 all-time against the Vikings. CSP is 2-10 when traveling to play Augie on their home court, and has struggled against the Vikings in recent years. Concordia has lost six of their last seven games against Augustana.
LAST TIME AGAINST AUGIE
The last time Golden Bears played Augustana was in Sioux Falls in January of 2018, as CSP fell 85-66. The Vikings moved to 14-0 on the year, while the Golden Bears dropped to 4-11 on the season.
Concordia started slow, trailing 25-9 after the first quarter and 51-28 at the half. The Golden Bears were outshot 53.0% to 39.1% by the Vikings.
Brianna Miller was the leading scorer for CSP, as she posted 18 points (8-12 shooting), seven rebounds, and four assists. Anna Schmitt (12 points) and Danielle Schaub (10 points) also scored in double figures for Concordia. Presley and Logan O'Farrell combined for 37 points for Augustana.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Augustana is the highest scoring team in the NSIC, averaging 79.6 points per game. Augie is second in the conference in shooting percentage at 43.9% and first in shooting percentage defense at 35.7%. They are also top three in assists per game, rebounds per game, assist-turnover ratio, and steals in conference play.
Augustana won their first six games of the conference season and was 14-1 heading into 2019. However, the Vikings have not been as good in the new year, going 3-3 in their six games since the calendar flipped.
Shelby Selland is the leading scorer for the Vikings at 15.3 points per game, and leads the conference at 56.5% shooting, but the senior center has not played in the past six games. Lynsey Prosser is the second leading scorer for Augie at 13.2 points per game, but has averaged 19.7 points in her last three contests. Prosser is also second in the NSIC with 4.1 assists per game.
Augustana relies heavily on the three point shot. The Vikings have made an average of 9.7 threes per game in conference play, which ranks first in the conference. The rank 10th in the conference with a three-point field goal percentage of 32.5%, and have only shot above that mark from downtown in two of their last seven games.
WAYNE STATE SERIES HISTORY
Concordia is 20-21 all-time against the Wildcats. The Golden Bears have a 7-11 record playing in Wayne, Nebraska, though CSP is 4-2 in their last six matchups hosted by the Wildcats. Wayne State does have a 6-3 edge in the last nine games in the series.
LAST TIME AGAINST WSU
The Golden Bears last faced the Wildcats in the NSIC Tournament, defeating Wayne State 80-70. Concordia advanced to the tournament semifinals, upsetting WSU, who ended the season with a 25-7 record.
The Golden Bears used efficient offense to advance in the NSIC tournament, shooting 50.8% from the field and 41.7% from three. The Golden Bears also outrebounded the Wildcats by 10 (37-27) in the quarterfinal contest. Concordia held the lead for nearly all of the game, but Wayne State did manage to tie the tilt at 63 in the fourth quarter. CSP finished the game on a 17-7 run to claim the victory.
Anna Schmitt and Lindsay Dorr both scored 25 points in the win for the Golden Bears, with Dorr securing a double-double (12 rebounds). Hanna Vidlund also finished with a double-double for Concordia, scoring 14 points, dishing out 11 assists, and grabbing seven rebounds.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Wayne State is led in the scoring department by Erin Norling. The sophomore ranks eighth in the NSIC with 14.9 points per game. Norling also ranks sixth in the conference in steals with 2.1 per game.
The Wildcats' second leading scorer is Brittany Bongartz. The sophomore center averages 12.2 points per game and also is second on the team with 5.8 rebounds per game. Fellow sophomore Haley Busse also averages double figures, as the point guard has posted 11.9 points per game.
Wayne State has played better on their home court this season. The Wildcats are 8-1 at the Rice Auditorium this season, scoring 70 points or more in six of the nine games they have hosted.
Wayne State has operated one of the more efficient offenses in the NSIC this season, ranking third in the conference points per game at 71.2. They also rank second in the conference in NSIC play with 15.9 assists per game. The Wildcats are one of the top three-point shooting teams in the NSIC, averaging 7.8 makes per game from downtown (2nd NSIC).
KEY STATS
After dropping their first two games of the conference season, the Golden Bears have hit their stride. CSP has won nine of their last 10 games and have now been victorious in five straight.
Concordia has been adept at getting to the foul line in conference play, averaging an NSIC-leading 21 free throw attempts per game. They have also been able to play stout defense without fouling, with the 3rd least amount of free throws shot by opponents in conference play.
Kyrah Fredenburg and Lindsay Dorr have led CSP's movement of hitting the glass hard in their five-game winning streak, as they have outrebounded each of their opponents in that stretch. Dorr has averaged 12.4 rebounds per game over that span while Fredenburg has grabbed 10 boards per tilt.
Concordia's defense has been very solid this season, especially lately. CSP has held each of their last five opponents under 40% shooting. The Golden Bears rank second in the NSIC with 2.8 blocks per game and second in defensive field goal percentage at 36.2%.
Anna Schmitt has been one of the best distributors in the conference as of late, averaging 6.2 assists per game in the last five contests. Schmitt ranks third in the conference with 4.1 assists per game (in NSIC play).
