ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (9-3, 7-3 NSIC) will return home to take on the Winona State Warriors (2-6, 2-5 NSIC) in a pair of conference games this weekend. Friday's game will tip-off at 6 p.m. while Saturday's game, designated as CSP's Senior Day, will tipoff at 2 p.m.

Concordia will honor their two graduating seniors, Ayla Lemke and Sidney Wentland, on Saturday. All other seniors on the roster intend to return for another season thanks to eligibility extensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lemke is a chemistry major from Two Harbors, Minnesota. Throughout her four years in the program, she has been a steady presence for the Golden Bears, playing in 93 games and making 20 starts. She has averaged 3.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Lemke is tied for 20^th in program history with 51 blocked shots. She is the daughter of Chris and Gina Lemke.

Wentland is a sport psychology major and exercise science minor from Elk River, Minnesota. Since transferring to Concordia from the University of Denver as a sophomore, Wentland has been a key contributor for the Bears. She has played in 69 games at CSP and made 66 starts. Throughout her career, Wentland has averaged 9.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. She ranks ninth in program history in blocked shots per game, seventh in minutes per game, and is tied for 16^th in games started. She is the daughter of Jesse and Sheila Wentland.

ATTENDANCE POLICY
As the state of Minnesota has eased restrictions on attendance at indoor sporting events, CSP athletics has adapted to allow limited Will Call only attendance at this weekend's games. There are no ticket sales to the general public or additional pass list options available outside of the CSP family will call list. Policies will continue to be revisited as national, state, local and campus guidance and regulations shift. Institutional Ticket Policy (1/12) 

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 Upper Iowa Peacocks in a pair of road games at Dorman Gym in Fayette, Iowa. CSP swept the Peacocks in dominating fashion, winning the first game by 14 and the second game by 30.
 
Both teams struggled early in the first quarter of game one until UIU guard Katie Tornstrom finally broke the 0-0 tie with a jump shot over two minutes into the game. Freshmen forward Lindsey Becher got the Bears on the board with a layup around a minute later. The teams traded jabs for the rest of the first, but it was CSP closing out the quarter with a 12-9 lead over Upper Iowa.
 
The Bears took control of the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Peacocks 21-5 to take a commanding 33-14 lead into the half. Concordia held the Peacocks to just 2-12 shooting in the quarter while shooting 7-18 themselves.
 
The Peacocks mounted a slight comeback in the fourth, outscoring the Bears 19-14 on 8-15 shooting (53.3%). However, the deficit proved too much to overcome as the Bears walked away with a 14-point victory to move to 8-3 on the season.
 
Zgutowicz was the scoring leader for the Golden Bears, tying her career-high with 14 points on 6-13 shooting and adding five rebounds and four steals. Sophomore guard Jadyn Hanson provided a spark off the bench for CSP, putting up 13 points and four assists.
 
In game two, the Peacocks opened the scoring in the first quarter on a three pointer from Katie Tornstrom. The Bears quickly responded on the other end of the court with a layup from Sydney Zgutowicz. CSP kept their feet on the gas from there, sparking a 12-0 run to take an early double-digit lead. The first quarter closed with Concordia leading 22-10.
 
The Golden Bear defense was up to the challenge again in the second frame, holding the Peacocks to just 9 points on 3-7 shooting from the field. CSP capitalized on UIU's turnover issues for the second straight game, scoring 17 points off turnovers in the first half alone.
 
The Concordia offense exploded in the third, scoring 27 points on 9-18 shooting in the quarter. The Bears also played well, holding the Peacocks to 15 points to extend the lead to 28 heading into the fourth.
 
The fourth quarter was much tighter than the third, but CSP still managed to outscore the Peacocks 15-13 to cap off the 30-point victory.
 
Zgutowicz finished on top of the score sheet for the Bears once again, notching a career-high 20 points to go along with five rebounds and three steals. Freshman forward Lindsey Becher also had another strong day, putting up 12 points and four steals for CSP. Sarah Kuma gave the Golden Bears a solid performance off the bench with 12 points, three rebounds, and three steals.
 
WSU SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears have a 34-19 all-time record against the Warriors. The Bears' record in home games against UIU is 15-6. CSP has the advantage in recent years, winning the last four and six of the last 10 against WSU.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST WINONA STATE
When the teams last met on Feb. 21 last year at the Gangelhoff Center, the Golden Bears came away with a 66-47 victory.
 
Following the tip-off, the two teams were back and forth on scoring while mutually unsuccessful on a number of possessions. Danielle Schaub broke the scoring drought on the court after four possessions with neither team able to execute, putting up a three-pointer to take an early 7-5 lead. The Bears held the Warriors to 30.8% shooting from the floor (4-13) while going 50% (8-16) themselves to have the 18-14 lead at the end of the first.
 
The first bucket in the second quarter didn't come until 5:35 to go with a set of free throws from junior Riley Wheatcraft. After that, Winona State went on a 6-0 run to take a one-point lead over the Bears. The quarter went on to have seven lead changes and despite CSP shooting 18.8% from the field (3-16), they trailed by just one point at the half (26-27).
 
After their locker room meeting, the Golden Bears came back to the court with a touch for the glass again and shot 71.4% from the floor (10-14) while holding Winona to 40% shooting (6-15). Junior Sydney Schultz scored 11 points in the third after hitting five of three from the floor.
 
The Warriors committed six of their 19 turnovers in the final quarter of the game and struggled to get past the Golden Bear defense. WSU hit just one of ten from the floor (10%) and scored three of four from the free-throw line for a smug five points in the final ten minutes.
 
The top scoring duo for the Golden Bears was Riley Wheatcraft and Sydney Schultz as they each ended with 17 points. Wheatcraft ended on 75% shooting from the floor (6-8) and was the top rebounder with six. The junior also put up a career high in blocks with four against the Warriors, along with two assists and two steals. Schultz was 8 for 11 from the field (72.7%) and contributed one assists, two rebounds, and two steals.
 
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
The Warriors hover around the middle of the conference in most statistical categories and scoring offense is no exception. Winona State averages 68.0 points per game, good for ninth in the NSIC.
 
The Warriors are the 14th ranked scoring defense in the conference, giving up 74.8 points per game.
 
WSU likes to shoot from beyond the arc, hitting 7.1 three pointers per game (sixth NSIC).
 
Taylor Hustad and Emma Fee anchor the Warriors' scoring attack as each of the seniors average at least 11 points per game on over 50% shooting from the field. Hustad also ranks second in the conference in rebound per game, grabbing an average of 8.9 boards.
 
Allie Pickrain is the WSU scoring leader off the bench, putting up 9.0 points and 1.0 steals per game.
 
KEY STATS
Heading into this weekend's matchup, the Golden Bears rank first in the NSIC in three different key statistical categories. CSP leads the conference in defensive field goal percentage (32.5%), blocked shots per game (7.08), and assists per game (15.0). The Bears also rank second in the NSIC in three-point field goal percentage (37.1%).
 
On the individual side, three Golden Bears rank in the conference top-ten in three different statistical categories. Lindsey Becher ranks second in the NSIC and fifth in the NCAA with 3.33 blocks per game.
 
Meghan DuBois sits fifth in the NSIC with 3.8 assists per game and eigth in the conference with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.4.