ST. PAUL, Minn. – With the holiday season upon us and prior to the calendar flipping from 2021 to 2022, Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball (7-2, 3-2 NSIC) returns to Gangelhoff Center for its first home Friday-Saturday NSIC doubleheader of the year, hosting Southwest Minnesota State (7-2, 4-1 NSIC) on Friday and Sioux Falls (8-3, 4-1 NSIC) on Saturday, with each game tipping at 7:30 p.m.
 
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 43, SMSU 17
The Golden Bears and Mustangs will meet for the 61^st time this Friday night, with Concordia controlling the all-time series 43-17 including an 11-1 mark under head coach Amanda Johnson since January 1, 2016.
 
The series started with 12 meetings between the 1974-75 and 1991-92 seasons with Southwest State taking eight of the 12 meetings when CSP was an NAIA member. Those 12 contests do not have location data recorded.
 
The Mustangs won the first six Division II matchups between the programs starting in 1999-2000 when CSP joined the NSIC, extending their record against CSP to 14-4 in the first 18 overall contests.
 
Since, Concordia has won 39 of the last 42 games and carries a 22-game home winning streak with SMSU's last win at Gangelhoff Center coming on January 4, 2002.
 
LAST MEETING, 2021: CSP & SMSU SPLIT IN MARSHALL
The Golden Bears and Mustangs split their two games last year played at the end of January in Marshall, Minnesota, with the Mustangs carrying a 58-50 win on Saturday to snap Concordia's 17-game winning streak in the series before CSP rebounded with a 68-63 win on Sunday.
 
In the loss on Saturday, Concordia held SMSU to 18 points in the first half including 2-of-17 from the field in the second quarter, but the shooting woes were contagious as CSP was just 7-for-34 from the floor in holding a 20-18 lead at the break. Overall, the two teams matched each other in shooting at 26.9 percent (18-67) but the Mustangs hit one more three-pointer (6 to 5) and outscored CSP by seven at the foul line (16-19 to 9-13). Riley Wheatcraft secured the team's first double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds while Lindsey Becher had seven blocked shots. The Mustangs were led by Abuk Akoi with 14 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.
 
On Sunday, Lindsey Becher picked up her first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds with six blocked shots while Jadyn Hanson matched Becher with 18 points. CSP shot better, hitting at 43.1 percent while continuing to clamp down defensively as SMSU shot 31.4 percent. Meghan DuBois pitched in with 14 points, five rebounds and six steals. SMSU was led by Jenna Borchers with 14 points on 4-13 shooting.
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
The Mustangs are off to a strong start with a 7-2 overall record and 4-1 mark in Northern Sun play with their only NSIC loss an overtime defeat on the road at Wayne State. The non-conference schedule featured strong DII in-region competition, as well, picking up a 16-point road win at NW Missouri State, a neutral site 10-point win over Nebraska-Kearney and a 14-point home win over Maryville (Mo.) with the lone non-conference loss at home to Truman State.
 
The Mustangs have been out-executing their opponents at the free throw line this year, ranking 10^th in the nation and leading the NSIC at 81.1 percent from the stripe while ranking 23^rd nationally and third in the league with 146 free throws made. They'll bump into a CSP squad that is 14^th in the league in free throw percentage (67.7) and last in the league in opponent free throw percentage (77.4), playing into SMSU's on-paper strength.
 
They're fifth in the league with 70.8 points and fourth in scoring defense at 62.3 and are third in the conference with a 36.4 opponent field goal percentage.
 
Maleah Reinhart leads SMSU and is seventh in the NSIC with 15.6 points per game with a team-best 44 free throws made and ranking third in the NSIC with an 88.0 free throw percentage. On the interior, Abuk Akoi leads the team with 2.1 blocks per game, ranking fifth in the NSIC and 26^th in the country while Sadie Stelter adds 12.6 points per game on 12 three-pointers made and 2.6 assists per contest.
 
SERIES HISTORY: CSP 11, USF 8
Entering the 20^th meeting between the schools, CSP holds an 11-8 edge although the Cougars have won three of the last four head-to-head. Concordia is 6-4 in 10 meetings at Gangelhoff Center although the teams have split the last eight. Under head coach Amanda Johnson (2016 to present), CSP is 5-7 against USF overall and 3-4 at home.
 
The series began in 2012-13 when USF joined the Northern Sun, formerly an NAIA member. Concordia welcomed the Cougars to the conference by winning the first six matchups.
 
LAST MEETING, 2021: CSP & USF SPLIT IN ST. PAUL
In the 2020-21 season that was played entirely in 2021, Concordia and Sioux Falls split at Gangelhoff Center in late January, with Sioux Falls carrying an 83-65 win on Friday before CSP adjusted for a 64-50 win on Saturday, holding the Cougars to 33 fewer points while CSP remained consistent offensively in the mid-60's.
 
In the loss on Friday, Sioux Falls set the tone early with six three-pointers in the opening quarter as the Cougars used a 15-2 run to close out the first quarter. The Cougars held CSP to 2-11 shooting in the third and outscored CSP 16-2 to mount a 68-42 lead entering the fourth. USF made 10-24 from three in the game with nine coming in the first half. Concordia was led by Lindsey Becher's 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots while Riley Wheatcraft added 11 points. USF was led by Anna Brecht's 20 points and nine rebounds while Dallie Hoskinson had a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.
 
On Saturday, Concordia recovered and held USF to 5-19 three-point shooting (26.3 pct) and 31.6 percent overall (18-57) while the Golden Bears hit 12 three-pointers at a 57.1 percent clip. Concordia set the tone early, hitting four first quarter three-pointers to build an 18-10 lead, then held the Cougars to four points in the second quarter to carry a 26-14 lead at the break before hitting four more three-pointers in a 24-point third quarter to keep the margin in double-digits. Riley Wheatcraft scored 17 points and hit 5-of-8 from the arc, adding five rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Danielle Schaub, now a member of the Cougars in 2021-22, scored 11 points and hit 3-of-6 from three. Sidney Wentland only scored five points, but was strong all around with seven rebounds and an 8-2 assist-turnover ratio. Anna Brecht once again led USF with 14 points while Krystal Carlson had 11 points, six rebounds, five steals and three blocks.
 
ABOUT THE COUGARS
The Cougars enter the weekend carrying a six-game winning streak and will get a shot at breaking Minnesota State's nine-game winning streak on Friday night in Mankato before heading to St. Paul on Saturday. USF is 8-3 overall and 4-1 in the Northern Sun with its only NSIC loss at home to Southwest Minnesota State (75-67) prior to the start of the six-game winning streak.
 
In the non-conference, Sioux Falls mixed a pair of early season in-region DII losses at Missouri Western and a neutral site loss to Fort Hays State with a blowout win over Presentation (86-36) in the home opener. USF also scored non-conference DII wins at home over Black Hills State and at South Dakota Mines before this week's mid-week blowout home win over Waldorf (82-42).
 
The Cougars have been efficient offensively, ranking second in the league and 36^th-nationally with a 44.6 field goal percentage and third in the league and 24^th in the country with 156 assists. The Cougars also rank second in the Northern Sun in turnover margin (+3.64), second in steals per game (11.2), second in scoring margin (+13.9) and third in three-point defense (25.4 pct).
 
No one in the NSIC has attempted more shots (147) than Megan Fannin, who is also third in the league in made shots (63), second in three-pointers made (29) and second three-point field goal percentage (42.6). She is leading the Cougars and fourth in the league with 17.1 points per game. Adding all-around punch is Dallie Hoskinson, who is second in the league with 2.91 steals per game, third in the league with 72 total rebounds and eighth in the NSIC with 3.7 assists per game.
 
BEST IN NSIC: CSP DEFENSE
The Golden Bears have been consistently atop the Northern Sun defensively this year, leading the league in field goal percentage defense (35.1 pct), three-point defense (24.0 pct) and defensive rebounding (30.0/game). CSP is also fourth in the league with 3.6 blocked shots per game.

CSP has only allowed one team to shoot above 40 percent from the field on the season and in their two losses, MSU shot 39.4 percent and Wayne State shot 40.7 percent, the highest two totals of the year against CSP. CSP has also shot better than their opponent in all seven wins while being outshot in their only two losses. On the perimeter, no one has made more than eight three-pointers in a game against the Golden Bears and the only two teams to hit over 40.0 percent from the arc (MSU & Upper Iowa) only had 17 attempts (7-17) while everyone else has shot 32.0 percent or lower.
 
BECHER A TOP BLOCKER
Second year freshman forward Lindsey Becher, the 2020-21 NSIC Freshman of the Year, continues to lead the Northern Sun in blocked shots with 3.0 per game to rank fourth in the country and her 27 total blocks ranks fourth in the land. She's also eighth in the league with 46.4 percent field goal shooting, second on the team with 12.4 points per game and third on the team with nine steals while adding 4.8 rebounds.

Becher has scored in double-figures in eight straight games and has scored at least eight points in every game this year. She's had four or more blocked shots four times, had a block in eight of nine games and multiple blocks in six games.
 
She's a career 11.6 scorer with 5.1 rebounds and 75 blocks in 26 games, nearly three per game while shooting just under 50 percent from the field (49.8) and 78.2 percent from the line (68-87).
 
DUBOIS A TOP DISTRIBUTOR
Junior point guard Meghan DuBois leads the Northern Sun with 5.4 assists per game, is second in the NSIC in defensive rebounding (6.2), is fourth in the league in assist-turnover ratio (1.9) and fifth in the conference with 2.7 steals per game.
 
She's third on the team in scoring (12.3), second on the team with 13 three-pointers, leads the team in free throws made (28) and attempts (40) and is second on the team with 6.6 rebounds per game.
 
Like Becher, DuBois has scored at least eight points every game and double figures in eight of nine. She's collected at least four rebounds and had three or more assists in every game and Saturday's most recent game at Augustana was the first time this year she didn't have a steal or more specifically, at least two steals. She has one double-double, with 11 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in a win over Northern Michigan to secure NSIC Player of the Week honors in the season's opening week.
 
As a Golden Bear, DuBois has 570 points, 247 rebounds, 218 assists and 110 steals while her 2021-22 averages of 12.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.7 steals are all career-highs.
 
WHEATCRAFT LEADING CSP IN SCORING
Two-time All-NSIC senior guard Riley Wheatcraft is leading a balanced Golden Bear offense with four players in double-figures with 13.1 points per game, shooting a team-best 47.3 percent from the floor and leading the squad with 18 three-pointers made at a 35.3 percent clip. She's also third on the team with 6.0 rebounds and second with 16 steals.
 
She's the team's top 20-point threat, with a pair of 20-point games with 20 points in 18 minutes in the season opener and 27 points in the team's road win at NAIA nationally-ranked Southeastern in Florida. She's had six games in double-figures, collected at least three rebounds in every game and had multiple steals five times this year. She's knocked down three or more three-pointers four times this year, as well.
 
In her career in 74 games, she's scored 796 career points with 290 rebounds, 118 assists, 102 steals and 52 blocked shots while making 126 three-pointers at a 37.2 percent rate. She's averaged at least 13 points per game three years in a row while her 6.0 rebounds is on a career-best pace.
 
ZGUTOWICZ ATTACKS THE GLASS
Sophomore forward Sydney Zgutowicz is the league's third leading rebounder with 8.0 per game, adding 3.0 offensive rebounds which is also third in the NSIC and is among the league's top-20 in assists, ranking second on the team with 25.
 
Averaging 8.9 points, she's coming off her best weekend of the year, averaging 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists while adding a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double in Saturday's win at Augustana in which she shot 7-13 from the field and knocked down a pair of three-pointers.
 
She has at least five rebounds every game this year and a pair of double-digit rebounding efforts along with three double-digit scoring games with at least six points in all but one game this year. She's been a consistent passer with multiple assists in all but one game this year, as well.
 
Now in her third year on the floor and fourth in the program, Zgutowicz has 291 points, 218 rebounds, 69 assists and 43 steals in 48 games.
 
HANSON SCORING THREAT
Third year sophomore guard Jadyn Hanson averaged 12.5 points last weekend including a career-high 19 points on Friday night at Wayne State and is now the team's fourth scorer to average in double-figures with a career-high 10.2 points per game. She's also dished out 19 assists including eight last weekend with a season-high five at Augsutana.
 
She's topped double-figures four times including three 15-plus point scoring efforts.
 
In 55 career games, Hanson has scored 337 points with 126 rebounds, 67 assists and 38 steals.
 
BENCH NOTES
Freshman Megan Gamble has continued to increase her productivity while her minutes have climbed as a result. She has scored 9-plus points in three of the last four games including 10 points, four assists and three rebounds in Saturday's win at Augustana where she clocked a season-high 30 minutes. On the year, she is averaging 5.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and is shooting 56.5 percent (13-23) from the floor. While Gamble has made a strong impact as a rookie, fourth year junior Sydney Schultz continues to provide a steady veteran presence, averaging 6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 48.7 percent shooting (19-39). She's clocked at least 11 minutes in all but one game this year and scored four or more points seven times with a pair of 10-point performances. Schultz has played 62 career games in four years with 400 points (6.5) and 220 rebounds while shooting 57.0 percent from the field. Redshirt freshman Alyssa Daugherty, now in her third year as a Golden Bear, had her top performance on Saturday at Augustana. With CSP facing a double-digit second quarter deficit, Daugherty scored a career-high eight points in the quarter to spark a 36-12 stretch of play for the team across the second and third quarters in a road victory.