ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (6-2, 4-2 NSIC) handed the Sioux Falls Cougars (5-1, 5-1 NSIC) their first loss of the season in a dominant 64-50 victory on Saturday afternoon.

From the moment senior guard Riley Wheatcraft hit a three on the first shot attempt of the game, it became clear the Golden Bears were determined to avoid a repeat of their previous matchup with USF. The CSP defense stood strong in the opening quarter, holding Sioux Falls to just 10 points on 3-12 shooting from the floor. A late 15-0 run by the Bears propelled them to an 18-10 lead at the end of the first.

Senior guard Danielle Schaub got the scoring started in the second quarter, recording the first five points to push the CSP lead to 13. In a complete reversal from their previous meeting, the Golden Bears hit on six threes in the first half while holding the Cougars to just 5-28 (17.9%) shooting from the floor. After putting up 52 in the first half on Friday, the Cougars were held to just 14 first-half points on Saturday as the Golden Bears carried a 26-14 lead into the half.

CSP came out hot again in the second half as Wheatcraft sunk another three on a Sidney Wentland assist. The Bears continued to push the lead in the third, leading by 21 with a minute left in the quarter. Heading into the fourth, Concordia held a commanding 50-33 lead.

The fourth quarter was more of the same as Riley Wheatcraft once again started the scoring with a shot from behind the arc. The Golden Bears only attempted two free throws in the game with both of them coming with just 2:36 remaining in the game. With the game out of reach for the Cougars, the Bears coasted their way through the fourth to a 64-50 victory, ending USF's perfect start to the season.

The Golden Bears tied their season-high of 12 three-pointers in the game, shooting 12-21 from downtown. As a team, CSP shot 43.3% (26-60) from the floor. The Concordia defense came up big in the victory, holding the Cougars to just 50 points on 18-57 from the floor, their lowest scoring total in two years. The team's 6-2 start to the season is their best through eight games since 2009-10 when they started 8-0.

Wheatcraft was the Bears leading scorer as she notched 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Schaub finished with 11 points in the game on 3-6 from beyond the arc. Junior guard Meghan DuBois contributed nine points while freshman forward Lindsey Becher added eight points.

Anna Brecht once again led all USF scorers with 14 points and three rebounds in the game. Krystal Carlson was the only other Cougar to finish in double-figures as she notched 11 points and six rebounds.

The Golden Bears will hit the road for a pair of matchups with Southwest Minnesota State next weekend on Friday and Saturday.