Box Score MANKATO, Minn. – Concordia-St. Paul (1-2, 0-1 NSIC) fell to #11 Minnesota State (4-0, 1-0 NSIC) on Tuesday night 91-61 in their first conference game of the 2022-23 season at Taylor Center.
 
The Golden Bears' cold shooting to start the game allowed MSU to jump out to a 21-9 lead after the first quarter. The CSP women could not get shots to drop in the opening period, shooting 2-17 from the field and 0-6 from three. Concordia shot better in the second quarter, but were bit by the turnover, committing 12 turnovers in the second frame. The Mavericks continued to protect the 3-point line in the second quarter, allowing only two shots from behind the arc, both falling off target. 

Ally Gietzel was able to shut down MSU star Joey Batt, holding her to just two shot attempts and two points in the first half. The rest of the Mavericks did their part in picking up Batt, with seven Minnesota State players putting points on the board during the second quarter to give them a 43-23 lead at the break. 
 
The Golden Bears started to find an offensive rhythm in the third quarter, going 3-5 from three on the way to 21 points in the quarter, their highest in the game and cut the margin to 16 points, 53-37 midway through the quarter. Minnesota State staved off any hope that CSP tried to build with an impressive offensive quarter of their own. The Mavericks shot 11-17 from the field, 2-2 from three and hit all six of their shots from the foul line to extend their lead to 29 at the end of the third quarter, opening up a 73-44 lead after closing the quarter with a 20-7 spurt.

The Bears launched 10 threes in the fourth quarter, connecting on four, in an effort to make the comeback. The Minnesota State bench held the lead throughout the final period, pushing the deficit to 30 by the end, taking their first conference win of the season and dropping Concordia to 0-1 in NSIC play, 91-61.
 
The Concordia women were led in scoring by Jadyn Hanson. The junior scored 16 points, shooting 4-6 from behind the arc, to go along with three steals. Gietzel joined her in double digit scoring with 10 points while grabbing a team high eight rebounds.

Returners Lindsey Becher and Megan Gamble both put seven points on the board, with Becher adding six rebounds and Gamble adding four.

Redshirt freshman Raegan Alexander scored a career high seven points while being active on the boards with a matching career high seven rebounds. Fellow redshirt freshman Faith Alberts scored her first collegiate basket, hitting a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, while also picking up a steal. 

Destinee Bursch was the top performer for Minnesota State, scoring 14 points, shooting an efficient 70% from the field. She also added four assists, three steals, and three rebounds in a well balanced performance. Batt finished with just eight points, but was active outside of scoring the basketball, dishing out five assists and grabbing five steals.

The Mavericks dominated points in the paint, outscoring the Golden Bears 48-18. MSU was also more efficient from the field, shooting 48% from the field and 33% from three, compared to CSP's 32% from the field and 30% from three. The teams were fairly even on the boards, 48-40, with Minnesota State again holding the advantage. 

The Golden Bears are back in action on Friday, hosting the University of Jamestown (6-1) this Friday at 5 p.m. at Gangelhoff Center.