ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (6-5, 3-2 NSIC) defeated Minnesota State (6-3, 3-2 NSIC) Friday night with a final score of 82-79. The Bears improve their all-time series record to 21-19 against the Mavericks and 12-5 while playing at the Gangelhoff Center.
 
The Golden Bears had the lead for over 34 minutes of the game until the pace changed in the fourth quarter and Minnesota State outscored CSP 20-11. With 59 seconds to go, Kirstin Klitzke was fouled on the way up for a jumper and was able to score three points off of the play for MSU to tie it up at 79-79. After two possessions of no scoring, Meghan DuBois threw the assist to Riley Wheatcraft beyond the arc for a three-point bucket with six seconds left of the game. The Mavericks weren't able to find the rim and CSP earned the win.
 
Wheatcraft shot 73% (11-15) from the field and went 66% (6-9) for her second consecutive game to set a new personal record of 31 points, tying her for 13^th in all-time scoring at CSP. The junior also collected eight rebounds and two blocks for Concordia.
 
The teams were consistent on scoring in the first half, the Bears going 48.6% (18-37) from the field and the Mavericks shooting 47.4% (18-38) for a solid back and forth game. CSP attempted 18 shots from the three-point line in the first 20 minutes of the game to go 38.9% from the arc. The second quarter consisted of MSU in a zone defense after CSP finished five out of seven threes' in the first quarter, three of which came from Danielle Schaub.
 
Schaub was another Golden Bear to end the night with a personal victory after scoring a career-high 22 points and was an active player on the court for 38 minutes of the game. The junior had a .562 (9-16) field goal percentage and a .444 (4-9) three-point percentage.
 
As a team, Concordia attempted the most shots both in the paint and beyond the arc in their win over Minnesota State. The Golden Bears put up 68 field goals against MSU, finishing 31 for a 45.6 shooting percentage. The Mavericks were evenly getting opportunities, as they went 31-72 (44.4%) from the field. CSP held MSU to 21.4% (3-14) from the arc while they finished with a 38.7% (12-31) 3PT shooting percentage.
 
Junior Sidney Wentland was the third leading scorer for the Bears, contributing 13 points along with seven assists, three rebounds, two steals, and two blocks for a powerful night on the floor. Senior Cassidy Byrd led on boards with eight rebounds, two on the offensive end, and put up five points.
 
Mankato played tough defense, forcing 21 turnovers from the Golden Bears while giving up 18. Each team grabbed 40 rebounds, but CSP pushed it up the court for ten fast break points while MSU pushed for two.
 
Klitzke was the high scorer for Minnesota State as the senior ended with 18 points and five rebounds. Junior Rachel Shumski was the second leading scorer with 14 points along with four rebounds and an assist. The strong rebounder was junior Brooke Tonsfeldt with seven total and two on the offensive end.
 
It won't be long until the two squads meet again as the Golden Bears hit the road this Saturday, December 21^st for their second match-up against the Mavericks. Tip-off will be at 3:30 p.m. at the Taylor Center with live stats and streaming available at cspbears.com/watch.