ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (21-7, 17-5 NSIC) fell 73-70 to Bemidji State (6-21, 3-19) Wednesday night at the Gangelhoff Center in the first round of the NSIC Tournament.
The Golden Bears will now await the NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Show, which is set to air on NCAA.com at 9 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, March 10. Concordia was ranked 7th in the most recent NCAA Region Rankings, with eight teams qualifying for the NCAA tournament from the Central Region.
The Golden Bears were led by senior guard Anna Schmitt, as the CSP senior went over 2,000 points in her career en route to leading all scorers with a 31 points (her season-high) on the game. Schmitt hit 13-26 from the field and put up 11 points in the fourth quarter, also making 5-6 from the free throw line. The Waconia, Minnesota native was the first player in Golden Bear basketball history (men or women) to break the 2,000 point barrier.
Lindsay Dorr was second on the team in scoring with 14 points, also pulling down five rebounds. Kyrah Fredenburg also had a productive game for CSP, hitting three threes for a total of nine points and also picking up eight rebounds on the night.
Schmitt had a look to tie the game in the final seconds, but her pull-up three bounced off the rim and the Beavers secured the rebound and dribbled out the few remaining seconds to claim the victory.
It was the Beavers' three-point shooting that gave them the edge, as they made 12-22 (54.5%) from downtown. They were especially efficient in the second half, making 6-8 from long range. The Beavers also shot 8-12 from the field in the fourth quarter, making some big shots down the stretch. CSP won the battle on points in the paint (36-22), but made just four threes of their own.
Maria Appicelli (15 points), Taylor Bray (13 points), Brooklyn Bachman (13 points), and Trinity Myer (12 points) all ended in double figures for Bemidji State. The Beavers shot 42.9%, the highest field goal percentage the Golden Bears have allowed since January 4th.
With the Golden Bears trailing by seven with just over three and a half minutes to play, CSP's seniors made a final push to send Concordia to the next round in the NSIC Tournament, scoring 13 of the final 15 Golden Bear points. Schmitt was the catalyst for the push with eight points, with Fredenburg knocking down a clutch three and Dorr hitting a pair of free throws to bring the game to within two points with nine seconds left. Concordia cut the Beaver lead to one multiple times, but couldn't regain the lead in the final minutes of play.
The Golden Bears got off to good start, holding the Beavers scoreless for the first 3:30 of the game and taking a 5-0 lead right off of the bat. Bemidji State would inch back into the game near the end of the quarter, bringing the deficit to one at 11-10 on a Myer layup with 3:28 to go in the frame. The Golden Bears would answer back with a 9-0 run, capped by an Riley Wheatcraft left-handed layup. However, Claire Wolhowe would hit a corner three at the buzzer to make the score 20-13 going into the second quarter.
The second quarter would follow a similar pattern, as the Golden Bears regained a double-digit led before the Beavers closed the gap once again. With the margin down to three (30-27) with 1:35 left in the first half, Concordia closed second quarter the on 7-2 run fueled by a Kyrah Fredenburg three and two jumpers from Schmitt. CSP led 37-29 going into the break.
The Beavers would come into the second half red hot from downtown, hitting four of their first five threes and storming out with a 18-6 run to take a 47-43 lead. CSP answered back with an 8-0 run of their own (including six points by Schmitt), taking a 51-47 lead with 1:36 to go in the third quarter. Concordia would take a 52-49 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Beavers would stay hot in the fourth quarter while CSP's offense went cold. Bemidji State opened the the frame on a 13-2 run, taking a 62-55 lead with 3:38 to go in the game. Concordia's efforts to retake the lead fell just short, as they exited the NSIC Tournament a year after making a run to the tournament semifinals.
