ST. PAUL, Minn. – Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball (4-1, 0-1 NSIC) returns to Northern Sun action this week with a pair of games, first hosting Winona State (4-1, 1-0 NSIC) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Gangelhoff Center followed by a trip south to Fayette, Iowa to face Upper Iowa (1-4, 0-1 NSIC) on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Dorman Gym.
 
CSP CAMPUS MASKING POLICY
Visitors to Concordia-St. Paul should observe the general campus masking guidelines. All unvaccinated individuals are required to mask at all times while indoors on campus. For individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, masks are strongly encouraged. Thank you for abiding by the policies as set forth by campus administration.

BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
New this year to Golden Bears is online ticketing. Buy tickets in advance and bring your QR code to the gates to skip the line! Friends and families who utilize the pass list will also be utilizing the online ticketing service while all students, faculty & staff will access their free CSP tickets through the service. Fans do not need to create a login, remember a username or password or download an app to purchase tickets, and tickets can still be purchased with cash at the gates. Find out more in the partnership announcement between CSP Athletics and HomeTown Ticketing.
 
WATCH ONLINE – NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear football games will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, supported by BlueFrame Technology. Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Search "NSIC Network" and download the app for the league's full sport and team lineups. NSIC NETWORK FAQ
 
All home games will feature the play-by-play broadcasting provided by Dan Flanagan, the voice of the Golden Bears for over a decade. The St. Paul, Minnesota native studied broadcasting at Fordham University (N.Y.) where he was the voice of the Rams' football and basketball teams in the NCAA Division I Patriot League. Learn more about Flanagan on the latest CSP Bears Podcast
 
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear athletics.
 
SERIES HISTORY: CSP 35, WINONA STATE 20
Concordia-St. Paul and Winona State will meet for the 66th time this Thursday with the Golden Bears controlling a 35-20 series history between the programs dating back to 1977. The two teams met 10 times prior to Concordia's move from NAIA to NCAA Division II in 1999-00 with Concordia holding a 6-4 record in those games. After the Warriors topped CSP to sweep the Golden Bears' debut season in the NSIC in 1999-00, Concordia rattled off 12 wins in a row and won 19 of 20 between 2000-01 and 2010-11.
 
In recent years, Concordia has held the upper hand, as well, winning five of the last six contests and holding a 7-4 record dating back to December 10, 2016.
 
At home, Concordia is 16-7 all-time against the Warriors with wins in five of the last six meetings at Gangelhoff Center dating back to December 10, 2016.
 
SERIES HISTORY: CSP 28, UPPER IOWA 5
The Golden Bears and Peacocks meet for the 34th time this Saturday and the 18th time at Upper Iowa's Dorman Gymnasium. The series began in 2005 when Upper Iowa was knocking on the Northern Sun's door, joining the league after three non-conference meetings for the 2006-07  campaign.
 
CSP won the first 13 matchups in the series and 19 of the first 20 through December 13, 2014. Concordia has also won the last three in the series including a road sweep last season.
 
Concordia is 14-3 at Upper Iowa including a two-game road winning streak against the Peacocks.
 
LAST MEETING: 2021 SPLIT VS WSU
In the 2020-21 season which was played entirely in 2021 with the teams returning to the floor following a late start due to COVID-19, the NSIC's schedule included back-to-back games against the same opponent. Concordia hosted Winona State on February 12-13 at Gangelhoff Center, with CSP winning 70-55 on Friday before falling 68-67 on Saturday.
 
In the win, Concordia hit four three-pointers and carried a 20-10 lead after the first quarter and shot 58.8 percent (10-17) in the fourth quarter to close out the Warriors. Concordia's defense limited WSU to 38.0 percent (19-50) shooting for the game. Meghan DuBois led CSP with 17 points while Riley Wheatcraft had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists. WSU was led by Taylor Hustad's 12 points and six rebounds with CSP holding her to 5-16 shooting.
 
In the loss, Concordia opened the game leading 38-22 at the break and led by 19 (59-40) after three quarters. The Warriors responded with a 26-6 run to claim a 1-point lead with 30 seconds to play. Sarah Kuma put Concordia back on top with a clutch jumper with 23.6 seconds to play, but Emma Fee put in a buzzer-beater for the 68-67 Warriors win. Riley Wheatcraft led CSP with 17 points while Sydney Schultz had 14 points on 5-7 shooting off the bench. Fee led the Warriors with 13 points and six rebounds.
 
LAST MEETING: 2021 CSP SWEEPS UIU
The Golden Bears pulled off a pair of double-digit road victories last year at Upper Iowa, a 60-46 win on Saturday followed by a 77-47 victory on Sunday.
 
In the first meeting, Concordia took control with a 21-5 second quarter, heading into the break leading 33-14 while holding UIU to 2-12 second quarter shooting. The Golden Bears outscored the Peacocks 32-20 in the paint and forced 26 UIU turnovers in the win. Sydney Zgutowicz set a career-high with 14 points in the win, adding five rebounds and four steals. Jadyn Hanson provided a spark off the bench with 13 points and four assists. Upper Iowa was led by Brooke Evenson's double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds, adding three steals.
 
In the rematch, Sydney Zgutowicz stayed hot with another career-best 20 points and it was her layup early that sparked a 12-0 first quarter run as the Golden Bears led 22-10 at the end of the first frame. Concordia put up 17 points off turnovers in the first half alone and dominated the paint again 26-4 in the opening 20 minutes. Concordia put up 27 points in the third quarter to push the margin to 28, putting the game away. In the final tally, Concordia forced 22 turnovers for a  29-15 scoring margin off turnovers and outscored the Peacocks 40-18 in the paint. UIU became the first team to shoot 40 percent (18-45) against the Golden Bears, but still only managed 47 points as the Golden Bears dominated the offensive glass 19-4.
 
ABOUT THE WARRIORS
After finishing the shortened 2020-21 season with a 5-7 overall and 5-6 NSIC record, the Warriors were picked 10th overall and 5th in the NSIC South Division preseason poll.
 
They're off to a strong start in 2021-22, though, going 3-1 in non-conference play and topping Upper Iowa 73-69 on the road to open league play on November 23. The non-conference slate includes three double-digit wins over Division II opponents.
 
Most recently, they are coming off of a split against the MIAA, beating Washburn 56-45 on the road followed by a 65-62 loss to Northwest Missouri State on Washburn's campus.
 
They feature the second-ranked scoring defense with 55.0 points per game against and fourth-ranked scoring margin (+10.4) while holding opponents to a 37.4 percent shooting percentage.
 
They're led by Emma Fee with 12.6 points on a league-leading 63.8 percent shooting, adding 5.0 rebounds per game. Taylor Hustad also averages in double-figures with 12.0 points with a team-high 6.6 rebounds.
 
ABOUT THE PEACOCKS
Coming off of a 1-15 overall (0-14 NSIC) season, the Peacocks were picked eighth in the NSIC South and 14th in the league overall. They're off to a 1-4 start overall and were edged in their lone NSIC contest 73-69 at home by Winona State on November 23.
 
The Peacocks won their season opener by 13, 85-72 over Arkansas-Monticello on a neutral court in Missouri before falling by six in a high scoring 102-96 game to Southern Arkansas in a pair of in-region contests. They also have a pair of double-digit losses to DII programs Rockhurst and Truman State. They'll face Minnesota State on the road in Mankato on Thursday prior to Saturday's home game against CSP.
 
They're third in the league in scoring (73.0) but are last in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 80.4 points per game. They hit at a 34.0 percent clip from the arc, ranking fourth in the Northern Sun while hitting 7.2 per contest, also fourth in the conference.
 
Jessica Musgrave is the league's third leading scorer with 18.5 points per game and Lydia Haack is ninth in the NSIC with 16.2 points per game. Musgrave is the team's second leading rebounder with 6.3, just behind Brooke Evanson's 6.4. Haack is fifth in the league with 4.6 assists per game
 
CSP STRONG NON-CONFERENCE RESULTS
Concordia has put together a solid non-conference season leading into Northern Sun play, going 4-0 with a pair of Division II wins including beating a 2020 NCAA East Region qualifier USciences, who was receiving votes in the WBCA Division II Top-25. Concordia also picked up an in-region win over Northern Michigan, and knocked off the NAIA's #5 team in the country Southeastern (Fla.) on the road.
 
BECHER LEADING THE COUNTRY
Second year freshman post Lindsey Becher is off to a strong start inside, leading the nation with 3.60 blocked shots per game. She has at least one block in each game this year and multiple blocks in four straight. She had matched her career high with seven blocks in the win over Northern Michigan and followed it up with five more against Minnesota State.
 
She has also averaged 11.6 points per game with at least eight points in each game, and averaged five rebounds with a consistent effort on the glass with at least four in every game.
 
In just 22 career games, she has collected 3.0 blocks per game across her career. Her career scoring (11.3) and rebounding (5.2) averages are also in line with her season totals.
 
Becher was the NSIC Freshman of the Year in her debut season.
 
DUBOIS DOING IT ALL
Junior point guard Meghan DuBois is off to a fast start to the 2021-22 season, averaging 13.0 points, a league-leading and 10th in the nation 6.2 assists while ranking in the top-10 in steals (2.6) and rebounds (7.2). She's pouring in 37.8 minutes per game including three straight 40-minute outings.
 
She was the NSIC Player of the Week after the opening weekend when she averaged 13.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists in wins over North Central and Northern Michigan.
 
She's scored in double-figures, collected at least five rebounds, five assists and two steals in every game this season.
 
She registered a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the second game of the year, a win over Northern Michigan.
 
WHEATCRAFT POURS IN 27
Senior two-time All-NSIC First Team guard Riley Wheatcraft is averaging a team-high 14.6 points per game, ranking 11th in the league. Her scoring was boosted with her 27-point effort in a win at Southeastern, shooting 10-17 from the field and 4-8 from the arc. It was her second 20-point game of the year, also going off for 20 points in the season opening win over North Central on 8-11 shooting in 18 minutes.
 
She's also contributing 5.8 rebounds, has made nine three-pointers and picked up eight steals.
 
In her career as a Golden Bear, she has scored 751 points, averaging 10.7 per game while averaging at least 13 points per game each of the last three years. She's buried 117 three-pointers in 70 career games at a 37.0 percent clip.
 
ZGUTOWICZ CRASHING THE GLASS
Sophomore forward Sydney Zgutowicz is off to a strong start on the glass, ranking fourth in the Northern Sun with a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game while also showing versatility in averaging 3.2 assists, ranking 13th in the league. She's started every game and is second on the team with 33.2 minutes per game, averaging 9.0 points and adding four steals in five games.
 
She has scored at least six points in every game with a season-high 14 in the season opener against North Central when she added nine rebounds. She had a season-best 13 rebounds to go with seven points, three steals and three assists in the win at Southeastern.
 
She's collected at least five rebounds in every game and had at least nine rebounds three times, adding at least two assists in every game with a high of six against Northern Michigan.
 
HANSON'S FAST START
Sophomore guard Jadyn Hanson got off to a hot start this year, scoring 15 points each in the first two games while hitting 13-of-24 from the floor in the process. She's averaging a career-best 10.4 points per game, hitting double figures three times already this year while averaging 26.6 minutes per game.
 
DEFENSE & REBOUNDING
The Golden Bears have had a strong start to the season on the glass, ranking eighth in the country with 31.8 defensive rebounds per game, 18th in the nation with 45.6 rebounds per game – both league-highs, along with a league-best 13.8 offensive rebounds per game. Concordia's +6.6 rebound margin is also second in the conference.
 
The rebounding has paired with a defense that is second in the conference in field goal percentage, limiting opponents to 33.8 percent shooting and the nation's 26th-best three-point defense, holding the opposition to 21.7 percent from the arc, second-best in the Northern Sun. The interior defense has been stout, too, with 4.6 blocked shots per game to rank second in the NSIC and 25th in the nation.
 
Concordia has out-rebounded opponents in four out of five games this year and held opponents to under 40 percent shooting in all five games. The Golden Bears have not allowed more than seven three-pointers made in a game and have held opponents to 21.7 percent or lower three-point shooting in four of five contests.