SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – In a battle until the end, the Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (13-13, 10-10 NSIC) fell on the road against Augustana (15-9, 11-4 NSIC) with a final score of 90-85. The two teams went head to head at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Saturday afternoon.
 
The bank was open for Danielle Schaub as she ended the game just one bucket short of matching the single-game record for three-point shots made in a game. The junior set a handful of career highs in multiple statistical categories. She scored a career high of 27 points to lead the Golden Bears against the Vikings, with every one of her points coming from the three-point line. Schaub hit nine of 12 from downtown to go 75% from the floor for a new personal record and did not attempt a single shot within the three-point line.
 
In the first quarter, Schaub hit two three-pointers within the first five minutes to give the Bears an early 11-7 lead. Augustana quickly responded with a 7-0 run, fueled by Abby Hora and Lizzy Karp as they hit back-to-back jumpers. CSP held their own and tied it up at the end of the quarter with a fast break layup from Riley Wheatcraft, and the score sat at 19-19 going into the second.
 
Concordia went five for ten from the three-point line in the second quarter and outscored the Vikings 21-17. By the first media timeout, the Bears were on an 8-1 run and held Augustana to 0-6 from the field. CSP developed their largest lead of the game as they were ahead by 10, but Augie soon went on a 9-0 run to bring it back within one point.
 
The two teams went back and forth in the three minutes leading to half time and the Golden Bears had a 40-36 lead before heading into the locker room.
 
Back on the court, CSP struggled to find shot opportunities in the third quarter while the Vikings put up nine quick points to lead by five in the first two minutes. Wheatcraft recovered a one point lead with a set of three pointers but Augustana continued to score on every possession to keep their stride.
 
At 64-57 in favor of the Vikings at the top of the fourth, the Golden Bears had 24 shot attempts in the final ten minutes but couldn't get their shots to drop. CSP never gained back their lead despite outscoring Augie 28-26 in the final quarter. Augustana took advantage of their shooting fouls to slow down the momentum for the Bears in the last minute, finishing 13-of-15 attempts from the stripe while Concordia was efficient but only had four tries from the line.
 
In the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, Augustana hit five of their first six shots to establish their largest lead of the game at 12 points ahead of the Bears. A trio of three pointers from Danielle Schaub with 42 seconds to go threatened the Vikings and they were forced to call a timeout and returned to the court in a man-to-man defense.
 
While the Golden Bears were in pursuit of the ball, Augustana was in bonus and went to the line five times in the last-minute. Freshman Jadyn Hanson brought her energy to the court and scored eight points off the bench in the fourth quarter to be a big part of the final scoring burst. Concordia was able to bring the deficit closer and closer as they drove through the lane and muscled their way to the hoop, but the squad ultimately ran out of time to earn the victory.
 
The Golden Bears hit a season high of 15 three-point shots to be one bucket shy of the all-time single game record for 3FGM. They ended the night on 45.6% shooting from the floor (31-68) and 51.7% from three (15-29), while hitting 8-8 from the stripe in their lowest free-throw attempts of the season.
 
Riley Wheatcraft and Cassidy Byrd were the teams second leading scorers with 13 points each. Wheatcraft hit 3-of-6 from beyond the arc while picking up five rebounds. Byrd shot 60% (3-5) from three and 50% from the floor (4-8) while dishing out two assists and one block.
 
Sidney Wentland led the Bears with eight rebounds and seven assists in addition to her six points. Ayla Lemke was also strong on the boards, picking up seven rebounds with three on the offensive end. Lemke scored eight points along with two steals.
 
For the Vikings, Abby Hora matched Schaub's number with 27 points and went 10-17 (58%) from the floor. Mckenzee Zilverberg was the second leading scorer with 17 points while going 3-3 from the three.
 
CSP outrebounded Augustana 37-36 and scored 12 points off second chances. The Vikings won the turnover battle, drawing 15 from the Bears and scoring 19 points off turnovers while Concordia forced 10.
 
The Golden Bears will return home for their final regular season games at the Gangelhoff Center next weekend. Concordia will face Winona State on February 21^st at 5:30 p.m. followed by a game against Upper Iowa on February 22^nd at 3:30 p.m.