SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (14-4, 10-3 NSIC) defeated Augustana (17-5, 9-4 NSIC) 75-55 Saturday afternoon at the Sioux Falls Arena. Concordia now sits atop the NSIC South standings and has won six straight games.

CSP used a big second half run late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter to secure the win. The Golden Bears made 12 straight shots from the field, starting with a jumper by an Anna Schmitt with 2:50 left in the third and concluding with a jumper by Sidney Wentland with 3:13 remaining in the fourth. Concordia went on a huge 25-7 run to pull away from the Vikings and secure their 14th victory of the season, already topping last year's total of 13. CSP's margin of victory (20) was their biggest against Augustana since 2009.

Schmitt led the way for the Golden Bears in the scoring column, netting 23 points to go along with seven assists and four rebounds. The senior guard went 9-15 from the field and 3-6 from three, and now has dished out seven assists in each of her last three games.

Fellow seniors Lindsay Dorr and Lexi Lee also were major contributors in the scoring department, as Lee dropped in a career-high 18 points on 6-9 shooting (4-7 from three) while Dorr posted 15 points on 7-14 shooting from the field. Lee also contributed three assists and two steals while Dorr pitched seven rebounds and a block.

Kyrah Fredenburg was a consistent force for the Golden Bears on the glass, corralling 14 rebounds. Fredenburg also scored eight points on 3-4 shooting and is now just 35 rebounds away from tying the school record of 871 held by Dana Christopher (1987-1991).

Concordia shot 54.7% from the floor, their highest shooting percentage of the season. CSP also made 10-21 from three (47.6%) while holding Augustana to 32.8% shooting from the floor and 25.0% from three. The Golden Bears also had a big advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Vikings 44-30.

The Golden Bears got off to a hot start in the first quarter, scoring the first seven points of the game. CSP would lead by as much as nine in the quarter, propelled by ten points in the first ten minutes by Schmitt. Augustana was able to close the gap near the end of the first frame, trailing 17-13 going into the second quarter.

The Vikings' momentum carried over after the quarter break, as they were able to take their first lead of the game at 24-23 with 3:48 left in the first half. The Golden Bears closed the quarter on a 8-3 run to take a 31-26 lead into halftime. CSP relied heavily on three of their starters in the scoring department in the first 20 minutes, as Schmitt (14 points), Dorr (10 points), and Lee (7 points) were the only Golden Bears that scored.

That changed on CSP's first possession of the second half, as Kyrah Fredenburg cashed a three to open the third quarter. Lexi Lee banked in three to give CSP their biggest lead of the game to that point (37-26) just minutes into the second half. The Vikings were able sneak back into the game, getting to within four (41-37) with just 2:37 left in the fourth quarter.

The Golden Bears took over from there, scoring eight points in the next minute and half of play. A Riley Wheatcraft three put CSP up 49-38 heading into the fourth quarter, concluding the third on an 8-1 run.

Augustana was not able to close the gap to less than 11 points in the fourth quarter, as Concordia shot 10-12 from the field in the final frame. The Golden Bears shot 72.7%  in the second half to pull away from Augustana.

CSP will look to extend their winning streak to seven games tomorrow as they take on Wayne State (12-7, 7-6 NSIC) in Wayne, Nebraska at 1:30 p.m.