ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (10-4, 8-4 NSIC) dropped a heartbreaker to the Winona State Warriors (3-7, 4-7 NSIC) by a score of 68-67 on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams struggled to find the basket early in the first as each squad started the game just 1-6 from the floor. The score midway through the quarter reflected the early shooting woes with CSP holding a narrow 3-2 lead. Junior guard Sydney Schultz got the Bears rolling with three straight baskets to maintain the CSP advantage. Junior guard Meghan DuBois hit a late three to close out the quarter with the Bears leading 12-6.

The Bears shot much better in the second quarter, connecting on 7-14 from the floor and 4-8 from beyond the arc. Concordia ended the half on a 13-6 run to take a commanding 38-22 lead into halftime.

Senior guard Riley Wheatcraft came out hot in the third, hitting on two straight triples in the first thirty seconds. The Bears shot 50% from the floor again in the third, hitting on five of their ten shots from the floor. CSP outscored the Warriors again in the third by a margin of 21-18. At the end of three, Concordia held a 59-40 advantage.

The Warriors fought back in a major way in the fourth, going on a 25-6 run to tie the game up at 65 with under a minute left. Taylor Hustad went to the line for Winona State with just over 30 seconds remaining, making one of two the give the Warriors their first lead of the game. Freshman guard Sarah Kuma hit a huge jump shot just a few seconds later to give CSP a one-point lead with 23.6 on the clock. Coming out of a timeout with the shot clock turned off, the Warriors held the ball for the last shot. Warriors center Emma Fee threw up a shot with less than a second left, and heartbreak ensued for the Bears. The ball rattled around the rim, finally falling into the basket just as the buzzer sounded to complete the WSU comeback.

The Bears shot 20-46 in the game (43.5%) while the Warriors connected on 20-54 (37.0%). CSP outrebounded WSU by a margin of 39-26. Turnovers were a problem all game for Concordia as they committed 26 of them to the Warriors' 13.

Wheatcraft was the scoring leader for the Bears, putting up 17 points on 5-13 shooting. Schultz was also a key contributor, adding 14 points on 5-7 shooting from the bench. Senior forward Sidney Wentland also added nine points on Senior Day.

The Bears will head into next weekend's matchup with Minnesota State needing at least one win to secure a spot in the NSIC Tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The tournament field will include the top four teams from each division.