DULUTH, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (9-9, 6-6 NSIC) fell to the University of Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday afternoon. While on the road, the Golden Bears took on the 14-4 overall (11-NSIC) Bulldogs and fought hard despite a 55-74 final score.
 
Concordia had a 9-5 lead early in the first quarter which developed from a set of fast break points and a big three pointer from sophomore Meghan DuBois. The Bulldogs responded with an efficient 9-2 run and unfortunately that was the final lead for the Golden Bears.
 
UMD took the first quarter 16-13 and carried their efficiency into the second by lifting their run to 24-4 against CSP. Junior guard Danielle Schaub put a stop to the Golden Bear drought with a three-pointer in the final minute, but the squad was held to 20% (3-15) shooting from the floor and 12.5% (1-8) from the arc. While the opportunities were there, the buckets weren't dropping for CSP, and it was the opposite story for the dogs. UMD shot 75% (3-4) from the three-point line and 47% (8-17) from the field to have a 35-22 lead at the half.
 
Sydney Schultz dominated the boards in the first half with six rebounds and led the Bears with six points. The sophomore was a key player throughout the game and was the most effective from the field on 6-10 (60%) shooting. The forward/guard ended the night as the leading scorer for CSP with 14 points and played smart defense to commit just one foul in the final quarter of the game. She was the top rebounder with seven rebounds, four of which were on the offensive end, and put up one block along with a single steal.
 
In the third quarter, CSP shot the best from the three-point line as they went 40% (2-5) after a set of threes from Dubois and Sydney Zgutowicz while they held the dogs to 25% (1-4) from the arc. The Bears were outscored 19-16 though, as majority of their buckets were followed by a shot in the paint from the Bulldogs. UMD finished eight out of 15 shots in the paint to have a 16-point lead going into the final quarter.
 
The shooting got better for the Golden Bears as the game went on, going 41.2% from the field in the fourth quarter. Schaub showed up for CSP and contributed a solid three to pick up the pace of the game for the Bears. The guard was an important part of the game, as she was on the court for 34 minutes and scored 12 points and grabbed two steals for Concordia.
 
At the final buzzer, UMD shot 48.4% (30-62) from the floor. The Bears had almost the same amount of opportunities but couldn't drop their shots and went 34.4% (21-60) from the field. Both teams hit five three-pointers however CSP couldn't find the sweet spot and went 22.7% (5-22) while UMD shot 50% (5-10).
 
Concordia won the turnover battle and forced 16 from the Bulldogs in addition to their 12 steals. UMD outrebounded CSP 46-32, but the Golden Bears were able to score 10 points off of put-backs after the dogs allowed them 10 offensive boards. Two of those offensive rebounds came from reds-shirt freshman, Sydney Zgutowicz, who had a total of four rebounds and nine points for CSP. The guard also had four steals and two assists.
 
For the Bulldogs, Sarah Grow led with 17 points on 53% (7-13) shooting from the floor. Her teammate, Brooke Olson, grabbed a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, all on the defensive end.
 
After two weeks on road, the women's team will return home for a matchup against Augustana at 5:30 p.m. on January 24th followed by a game against Wayne State on January 25^th. Head over to the Gangelhoff Center as the Golden Bears look to bounce back with a set of wins.