WAYNE, Neb. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (13-12, 10-9 NSIC) redeemed themselves against Wayne State (16-9, 11-8 NSIC) on Friday night with an 81-80 victory over the Wildcats. In a back-to-back game, the Golden Bears came out on top to carry on their three-game winning streak.
 
It was an exciting game until the final second as the Bears had the lead for over 64% of the game and Wayne State took a one-point lead with 13 seconds to go. In the middle of a Wildcat transition, Danielle Schaub defended WSC's Halley Busse and snagged the ball before she crossed half court to turn around and finish the game winning layup. Up 81-80 with six seconds to go, CSP took advantage of their non-shooting fouls to keep their well-earned lead until the final buzzer.
 
The Golden Bears trailed by one point after the first quarter as the Wildcats outscored them 16-15. Both teams dropped the same amount from the floor, but CSP couldn't find their touch and hit just six of 19 for a slow start in the game. Riley Wheatcraft put up the first five points for Concordia but Wayne State went on an 8-0 run to take a quick lead.
 
Schaub broke the scoring drought for the Bears with five minutes to go in the first. The junior drove the lane for a two point bucket and her teammates contributed with an 8-3 run to follow to get CSP back into the game.
 
That momentum carried into the second quarter where the Bears went on to outscore the Wildcats 20-15. CSP gained the lead after Ayla Lemke kicked out the ball to Sydney Wentland for a jumper from the stripe. Shooting was significantly better for the Golden Bears and they shot 60% (9-15) from the field along with 50% (2-4) shooting from the three, while WSC struggled on 33.3% (5-15) from the floor.
 
CSP continued to shoot 60% on 9-of-15 from the floor in the third quarter, but the Wildcats returned to the court going five for five from the field within the first five minutes of play. WSC ended on 10-13 (76.9%) in the third and also had solid contact with the glass from the three-point line, hitting 5-of-5 while the Bears hit 4-of-7.
 
The lead had changed ten times by the end of the third quarter but CSP kept their 64-61 lead despite being outscored by the Wildcats 30-29 in an active quarter on both ends.
 
On just 27.3% shooting from the floor, Concordia gained a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter. Wayne State went on a 13-4 run to take an 80-78 lead in the final seconds of the game. Wheatcraft and Wentland supported CSP with a set of layups and a three pointer, but it was ultimately Schaub's last minute steal that led to the Golden Bear victory.
 
Concordia ended the night on 45% (27-60) from the floor and were sharp from beyond the arc on 40% (8-10) from three. They forced 15 turnovers from the Wildcats while giving up 10 and scored nine points off WSC mistakes. The Wildcats were the stronger rebounders, outrebounding the Bears 36-29.
 
Wheatcraft and Wentland were the Golden Bears scoring duo, as the juniors each put up 20 points for CSP. Wheatcraft also led with seven rebounds on 41.2% shooting from the floor (7-17), while contributing four assists and a block. Wentland collected five rebounds on 53.8% shooting from the floor (7-13) and had a block and a steal.
 
Schaub was the second leading scorer with 12 points. Sydney Zgutowicz put up eight while dishing out five assists to her teammates along with five rebounds and a steal as the red shirt freshman recorded her third start of the season. Cassidy Byrd was a significant shooter, hitting 2-5 from three and scoring eight points for the Bears.
 
The scoring leader for the Wildcats was Erin Norling with 22 points as she hit of 10 of 16 shots (62.5%) and put up three blocks. Busse was also strong with 20 points as well as nine assists. Brittany Bongartz was dominant in the post, grabbing a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
 
The Golden Bear women will look to increase their record to a four-game winning streak tomorrow afternoon against Augustana at 3:30 p.m. A livestream will be available at cspbears.com/watch.