ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team took on #11 Sioux Falls Friday night to open the 2019-20 season's conference play at the Gangelhoff Center. The Golden Bears were defeated by the Cougars 62-57 after a competitive game on both sides. The Bears record now sits at 3-4 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC. The Cougars remain undefeated at 8-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference.
 
The first quarter was tight as the teams were within two points of each other for the first eight minutes of the game, but the quarter ended 18-14 in favor of USF. Sophomore Sydney Schultz led the Bears off the jump with five points and a couple of strong rebounds on each end of the court. Her offensive rebound came off a layup by junior Riley Wheatcraft after Schultz put it back on the glass to make it a three-point play after the foul.
 
The Cougars came back in the second quarter ready to shoot and went 40% from the field, going on a 6-0 run to ultimately lead the half 35-24. Sidney Wentland was fierce on the defensive end for the Golden Bears in the first half with six rebounds and a block to go along with a swish from the three-point line. Wentland ended the night with four blocks, four assists, and 12 points.
 
The game could've gone either way after the first half as CSP outscored USF 17-14 in the third quarter. The Cougars were forced into a timeout after the Bears went on a 7-0 run to bring the score within four points. Sophomore Meghan DuBois responded to the timeout with a layup to bring it within two but as the Bears started dropping shots, so did the Cougars and the teams went back and forth for a series of shots.
 
Riley Wheatcraft and Sydney Schultz were a dynamic duo, each dominant on the boards for CSP and strong in the paint. Wheatcraft led the team tonight with 18 points and shot 50% from the field. The junior also grabbed seven rebounds and put up one block against the Cougars. Schultz finished the night with a career-high of 16 points and 11 rebounds, three of which were on the offensive end. In addition to her double-double, Schultz also contributed an assist and two blocks and went 58% from the field (7-12).
 
Wheatcraft brought the game within three points in the fourth quarter after hitting a three-pointer and forcing the Cougars into another timeout. Despite the efficiency by the Golden Bears, the Cougars came out strong after their short timeout and their defense kept the Bears in a deficit from then on.
 
The Bears were the better shooters in the game, going 34.5% from the field compared to USF's .318 shooting percentage. Sioux Falls were stronger on the boards, with 51 rebounds which included 18 on the offensive end. Mariah Szymanski was the leader for the Cougars with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists. Jacey Huinker was the leader in rebounds with six and second in scoring with 12 points.
 
The Golden Bears will return to the court tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 p.m. to face Southwest Minnesota State in this weekend's double-header. Head out to the Gangelhoff Center to watch the action live or tune into the live stream at cspbears.com/watch.