ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team defeated St. Kate's 78-51, led by transfer guard Ally Gietzel's 15 points, in a season-opening exhibition game on Wednesday night.

The Golden Bears showed off their depth in their first competition of the season with eleven players putting points on the board. The Concordia women were dominant on defense during the game forcing 27 Wildcat turnovers and getting 11 blocked shots. The Golden Bears ended the game on a 28-4 run to close out the contest. The Bears connected on 30 of their 61 shots from the floor for a field goal percentage of 44.1% and held the Wildcats to 15-50 (20.8%).

Concordia was anchored by their returners in the victory. Sophomore guard Sarah Kuma had a great performance with 14 points, six assists, four steals and three blocks. Returning first team all-conference center Lindsey Becher had nine points in the contest to go with two assists and two blocks. Jadyn Hanson added six points, three assists, three steals, and brought the fans to their feet with a buzzer-beating step-back jumper to end the first quarter. 

Gietzel's 15 points were a team high and along with fellow transfer Jalyn Shaw, led the Golden Bears in rebounds with five boards each. Shaw also had eight points in the contest. Freshman guard Lauren Feddema had five points and three assists in her first collegiate action. Down low, freshman center Makayla Johnson was solid in the paint with two blocks and no fouls.

The Golden Bears will host one more home exhibition game at the Gangelhoff Center November 7 against UW-Eau Claire at 7 p.m. It will be the last opportunity for CSP fans to catch the women's team before they hit the road for games at Michigan Tech, Parkside, and #15 Minnesota State. The Bears return home November 25 to take on Jamestown.