ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (11-5, 9-5 NSIC) will face the Bemidji State Beavers (9-5, 8-4 NSIC) in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday, February 26 at 10 a.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Bears are the second seed in the NSIC South while the Beavers are the third seed in the North. With a win, the Golden Bears would advance to the tournament semfinals on Saturday, February 27 at 10 a.m. against either Minnesota Duluth or Sioux Falls.

ATTENDANCE POLICY
Please note that there will be no spectators allowed at the 2021 NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament.

WATCH ONLINE - NSIC NETWORK
Powered by the NSIC Network, all Northern Sun home and away basketball games will be broadcast online, free of charge. Visit www.nsicnetwork.com/cspbears to watch the Golden Bears. Away games will feature production and commentary by the host institution, while home games are broadcast by Keemotion technology with the play-by-play call of Dan Flanagan, voice of the Golden Bears for over a decade. Flanagan is a St. Paul native who professionally trained in broadcasting at Fordham University in New York where he was the voice of the basketball and football teams, among other sports. NSIC Network Announcement & FAQ

WATCH ON YOUR TV
The NSIC Network, supported by BlueFrame Technology, is available to download on your favorite OTT providers like Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Simply search for "NSIC" or "NSIC Network" and download the app for a full listing of Northern Sun action on your TV.  NSIC Network Announcement & FAQ

WATCH ON THE GO
Download the NSIC Network app in the Google Play Store or the App Store on your Apple device to watch on your smartphone, a new feature from BlueFrame Technology.  NSIC Network Announcement & FAQ

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Not able to watch or keep an eye on live stats? Check in on social media by following our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds. Each platform will have different levels of engagement. Twitter will offer scoring updates, Instagram will feature live look-ins and engaging content and Facebook is a great place to get links to previews, recaps and more. Simply search for CSP Bears on any of the platforms, and remember to #BeGolden!

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Golden Bears took on the Minnesota State Mavericks in their final regular season games of the year. CSP split the series with MSU, dropping the first 89-63 and winning the second 99-93.

In Friday's game, senior forward Sidney Wentland got the Bears rolling early in the first, scoring the first seven points for CSP. At the end of one, the Bears trailed the Mavericks 18-16.

The second quarter proved to be disastrous for the Bears as Minnesota State came out on a 12-2 run to push the lead to double digits. Things went from bad to worse for Concordia as the Mavericks maintained pressure through the remainder of the quarter and prevented the Bears from clawing back. The Bears struggled to generate offense, shooting just 2-11 compared to Minnesota State's 9-21. In total, MSU outscored CSP by a margin of 28-7 in the second to take a commanding 46-23 lead into the half.

The Bears shot the ball much better in the third, connecting on 6-15 from the floor and 2-6 from beyond the arc. Concordia did manage to cut the deficit slightly as Minnesota State carried a 63-43 at the end of three.

The Mavericks took control again in the fourth, outscoring the Bears 26-20 to cap off the dominant victory.

Neither team shot the ball great in the contest with Minnesota State shooting 38.7% and the Bears just behind at 35.1%. Turnovers were a problem all night for CSP as they committed 25 to the Mavericks' 12. Mankato also outrebounded the Bears 52-41 and dominated the battle in the paint 44-20.

Wentland was the leading scorer for the Bears, notching 14 points on 4-7 shooting, also adding six rebounds. Sydney Schultz provided a spark off the bench, contributing 13 points on 4-10 shooting.
In game two,Sidney Wentland opened the scoring again in the first, 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 Bears' 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, preserving the six-point Concordia lead and punching 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 outrebound 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 Bears shared the ball well in the game with seven different players reaching double figures.

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.

BSU SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears have a 32-12 all-time record against the Beavers. The Bears have dominated the series in recent years, winning eight of the last ten matchups with BSU. When the teams last met on February 7, 2020 at the Gangelhoff Center, CSP came away with 75-61 victory. The Bears and Beavers have met twice in the NSIC Tournament, once in 2005 and most recently in 2019. In their first meeting, CSP defeated Bemidji State 102-80. In their 2019 meeting, the Beavers knocked off the number one seed Golden Bears 73-70.

LAST TIME AGAINST BEMIDJI STATE
When the teams last met on February 7, 2020 at the Gangelhoff Center, CSP came away with 75-61 victory.

The Golden Bears efficient shooting is what kept them ahead in the game as they went 50% from the field while holding the Beavers to 39.6%. Both teams ended the night on 41.7% shooting from three, but in an aggressive game CSP dominated from the free-throw line to go 80% (20-25) while BSU finished just 66.7% (14-21) of their attempts.  
 
The Beavers had the lead for a little over two minutes during the first quarter and shot 70% from the floor while holding CSP to 56.3%. The Bears were still able to put up more shots and were up by five (23-18) going into the second and would keep that lead until the end of the game.
 
 A 14-0 run in the second quarter is what solidified the comfortable lead for CSP. With five minutes to go, the Golden Bears went on a shooting rampage and led by 16 at the half. The burst started with a three-pointer from Cassidy Byrd and was followed by a couple jumpers and layups from four different women on the roster. The opportunities came from 11 Bemidji State turnovers, which Concordia scored 19 points off of.
 
CSP struggled in the third quarter and finished three of ten attempts from the floor, allowing BSU to outscore them 19-16. The Beavers went on a 7-1 run in the first four minutes until the Bears found their energy again as Sidney Wentland finished a set of jumpers and her teammates drew fouls to get to the line.
 
Roles reversed in the fourth quarter and the Golden Bears were back to their efficient game, shooting 40% from the floor while defending BSU to shoot their lowest at 20%. By the end of the night, CSP scored 20 of their points from free throws after Bemidji committed 23 fouls.
 
There were two Golden Bears to lead the offensive charge as Danielle Schaub and Riley Wheatcraft each put up 13 points. Schaub shot 60% (6-10) from the field for her sharpest shooting of the season and led the team with six rebounds. The junior guard also dished out four assists to lead the Golden Bears in scoring contributions.

Sydney Zgutowicz and Ayla Lemke were also top scorers, both adding 12 points to the board for the Golden Bears. Zgutowicz stayed foul-free throughout the game while drawing six from BSU to go 6-of-6 from the line. She also shot 75% (3-4) from the floor. Lemke grabbed five rebounds and three assists to add to her buckets.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
The Beavers enter the tournament as the third seed in the NSIC North, carrying an overall record of 9-5 and a record of 8-4 in conference play. BSU will enter the tournament fresh off a sweep of Minnesota Crookston last weekend.

As a team, the Beavers are the 10^th ranked scoring offense in the conference, averaging 67.4 points per game. On the defensive side, they rank sixth as they have allowed opponents to average 64.4 points. Bemidji State shoots the ball well, connecting on 43.4% of their field goal attempts, good for second in the NSIC. They also rank fourth in three-point percentage at 35.3%.

On the individual side, the Beavers boast a balanced scoring attack with three players averaging at least 10 points per game. Rachael Heittola anchors the offense with 14.0 points per game on 72-139 (51.8%) shooting while also grabbing 7.2 boards per game. Brooklyn Bachman is just behind, putting up an average of 12.8 points on 62-135 (45.9%) shooting along with 5.9 rebounds. Trinity Myer is also a scoring threat, averaging 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds this season.

KEY STATS
Heading into the tournament, the Golden Bears rank first in the NSIC in three different key statistical categories. CSP leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage (37.0%), blocked shots per game (6.44), and assists per game (15.5). The Bears also rank second in the NSIC in defensive field goal percentage (34.6%).

In the national rankings, the Bears rank second in the nation with 6.4 blocks per game. They also sit 17th in defensive field goal percentage (34.6%).

On the individual side, three Golden Bears rank in the conference top-ten in four different statistical categories. Lindsey Becher ranks second in the NSIC and sixth in the NCAA with 2.9 blocks per game.

Meghan DuBois sits fourth in the NSIC with 3.8 assists per game and eighth in the conference with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.5.

Sidney Wentland also currently ranks tenth in the NSIC with 1.0 blocks per game.