ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia – St. Paul women's basketball team (6-6, 3-3 NSIC) will hose their first set of games in 2020 in a face off against University of Mary (11-4, 5-1 NSIC) on January 3^rd at 5:30 p.m. before playing Minot State (3-7, 0-6 NSIC) on January 4^th at 3:30 p.m. Both games will be played at the Gangelhoff Center.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears are coming back from winter break after back to back games against Minnesota State University. CSP won the first matchup over the Mavericks on December 18^th with a final score of 82-79 at home. The Bears then traveled to Mankato on December 21^st where they fell to MSU, 79-84.
 
In game one, junior Riley Wheatcraft broke 31 points for a career high in the win against MSU and shot 73% (11-15) from the field and went 66% (6-9) from the arc. Concordia's sharp three-point shooting is what kept them ahead as they shot 38.7% (12-31) while keeping Mankato to 21.4% (3-14).
 
The squads traded momentum in Saturday's game as the Mavericks defense held the Golden Bears to a 26.7% field goal percentage. Concordia had five players with more than 12 points. Leading for the Golden Bears was  junior Sidney Wenlatnd who finished the game with 17 points along with seven rebounds, two assists and a steal. Sophomore Sidney Schultz ended with 14 points, shooting 54.5% (6-11) from the field and led the boards with 11 rebounds. Wheatcraft faced tough defense from MSU following her 31-point game against the Mavs earlier in the week but was also able to put up 14 points and grab five rebounds. Sophomore Meghan DuBois recorded 13 points with three assists and senior Cassidy Byrd had 12 with eight rebounds, two on the offensive end.
 
UMARY SERIES HISTORY
CSP holds a 12-7 edge over the Marauders in the all-time series between the two teams. Concordia has a 7-1 record against Mary when playing at home, but is 4-5 when traveling to North Dakota to play the Marauders. The Golden Bears had won five straight matchups in the series before losing to the University of Mary in the 2017-18 season.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST THE MARAUDERS
Concordia traveled to Bismarck last January and fell to UMary 74-62. The Marauders maintained a close lead through the first half, and CSP was able to remain within striking distance, down by just five early in the fourth quarter. UMary then used a big final frame run to put the game away.
 
University of Mary was able to outshoot Concordia 45.2% to 35.6% from the floor and 41.2% and 36.1% from three. After CSP forced 11 Marauder turnovers in the first half, they only were able to force one to slow down UMary's high-powered offense in the second 20 minutes.
 
As sophomores, Sidney Wentland scored seven points in the game against UMary and Riley Wheatcraft collected five points along with three rebounds.
 
SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS
UMary is led by 6'2 senior forward Cassie Askvig who collects on average 19.6 points per game, ranking her second in scoring in the NSIC. Askvig also average 6.5 rebounds per game (12^th NSIC) and has a .500 field goal percentage (5^th NSIC). The senior also takes full advantage of getting to the free throw line and shoots 81.8% (7^th NSIC).
 
The 6'3 sophomore forward Lexie Schneider for the Marauders has also been one to watch as she averages 11.3 points per game and 8.5 rebounds (4^th NSIC) and leads the NSIC in offensive boards with 3.1 per game. Lauren Rotunda, a 6'0 junior guard, averages 6.5 rebounds a game (11^th NSIC) and 11.1 points per game. Junior guard Coral Gillette is second in the NSIC for three-point field goals made per game with 2.7 and shoots 37.7% from the three.
 
UMary has the highest field goal percentage in the conference shooting 46.7% while they shoot 35.8% (5^th NSIC) from beyond the arc and holding their opponents to 29.3%. The team also ranks fourth in free throw shooting and eighth in rebounding.
 
MINOT STATE SERIES HISTORY

Concordia has faced Minot State just eight times in program history, and the Golden Bears are 6-2 all-time against the Beavers. The Bears have won two of the last four matchups and are 4-2 at home.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST THE BEAVERS
The Golden Bears and the Beavers played last January in Minot, with Concordia claiming the 58-46 victory. In that contest, CSP shot 38.5% from the field and 33.3% from three to claim the win.
 
Riley Wheatcraft scored 22-points in the win on 7-13 shooting (6-10 from three). Wheatcraft was especially big in the fourth quarter, sinking four three-pointers over a span of seven minutes to allow CSP to grow their lead and claim the win. Then a sophomore, she also had three steals and an assist.
 
Sidney Wentland was the second leading scorer against the Beavers with 12 points and also snagged three boards.
 
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
Minot State comes into the weekend looking for their first NSIC win of the season. The Beavers have dropped their first six conference matchups, their last contest being against UMary and losing 81-60.
 
Senior guard Mariah Payne leads the Beavers in scoring with 16.3 points per game. She has the highest three-point percentage on the team shooting 37.5% while averaging 2.0 per game (10^th NSIC). Calli Delsman is the leading rebounds for Minot grabbing 6.3 per game (15^th NSIC) and is second on the team in scoring with 8.7 points per game.
 
Anna Counts has been a strong contributor on defense averaging 5.3 rebounds per game and leads the team in blocks with 1.3 a game (6^th NSIC). The sophomore averages 8.2 points per game is shooting 44.6% from the field.
 
As a team, the Beavers shoot 39.9% from the field (12^th NSIC), 27.8% from the three (15^th NSIC), and 72.8% from the free throw line (8^th NSIC).
 
KEY STATS
Following her breakout performance against the Mavericks, Riley Wheatcraft is the leading scorer for the Golden Bears averaging 13.7 points per game (11^th NSIC). She increased her efficiency from the field to 43.1% and 36.6% from the three and is seventh in the NSIC with 2.2 three-pointers a game.
 
Concordia has three more players averaging more than 11 points a game starting with Sidney Wentland who puts up 13.3 points per game (12^th NSIC) and grabs 4.9 rebounds per game along with 1.6 blocks (3^rd NSIC). Junior Danielle Schaub averages 11.8 points per game and sophomore Meghan DuBois is right behind with 11.2. Cassidy Byrd is the top rebounds for the Bears with 5.0 per game.
 
The Golden Bears are shooting 41.5% from the field (11^th NSIC) and 36% from the three (4^th NSIC). Concordia is second in the conference in blocked shots with 4.33 per game.
 
Head to the Gangelhoff Center or follow the Golden Bears at www.cspbears.com/watch to watch a live stream of the games