MANKATO, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (11-5, 9-5 NSIC) defeated the Minnesota State Mavericks (9-6, 8-5 NSIC) 99-93 on Saturday afternoon at the Taylor Center to clinch a spot in the NSIC Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D. next weekend.  

Senior forward Sidney Wentland opened the scoring in the first for the Golden Bears, but the Mavericks responded just a few seconds later with a quick layup. MSU carried that momentum, jumping out to an early 6-2 lead. The teams went shot for shot for a few possessions with senior guard Danielle Schaub hitting a three to tie it at 11. A late 8-0 run by the Mavericks propelled them to a 19-14 lead at the end of the first.

The Golden Bears came out hot in the second quarter, going on an 8-0 run of their own to take a 22-19 lead. Concordia shot the ball well in the second, shooting 9-17 (52.9%). Going into halftime, CSP carried a 40-35 advantage.

The third quarter started much like the second, with CSP going on an early run to push the lead to 52-41. The Mavericks fought back, cutting the lead to six at the end of three. MSU was the better shooting team in the quarter, connecting on 10-17 (58.8%) from the floor compared to the CSP's 10-23 (43.5%).

The fourth started with another CSP run, this time a 7-2 run. The teams traded jabs for the remainder of the fourth, with the Bears shooting 57.1% from the floor and the Mavericks shooting 57.9%. In the end, each team scored 33 in the quarter to preserve the six-point Concordia lead and punch their ticket to the NSIC Tournament.

Despite losing the game, the Mavericks outshot the Bears as they connected on 36-74 (48.6%) compared to CSP's 33-70 (47.1%). The Bears were also outrebounded in the contest by a margin of 42-41. Concordia took advantage of their opportunities at the free throw line, connecting on 24 of 31 attempts. The Mavericks dominated the battle in the paint 58-36. The Bears shared the ball well in the game with seven different players reaching double figures in scoring.

Wentland was the scoring leader for the Bears, registering 22 points on 9-18 shooting. Riley Wheatcraft was also a standout, notching 18 points on 6-15 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. Lindsey Becher was another top performer, scoring 15 on 5-10 shooting, also adding seven rebounds and three blocks. Sydney Schultz had another strong game off the bench, putting up 13 points on 5-6 shooting.  Sydney Zgutowicz also got into double figures, recording 11 points on 2-3 shooting from the floor. Danielle Schaub and Meghan DuBois also got in the action with each of them putting up 10 points in the win.

Joey Batt was the top performer for the Mavericks, notching 29 points and four steals in the game.

The Golden Bears will now await the results of the remaining regular season games this weekend to find out their seeding and matchup in the NSIC Tournament next weekend.