ST. PAUL, Minn. – Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball (7-5, 4-4 NSIC) welcome the top two NSIC North Division teams to Gangelhoff Center this weekend to begin their slate of cross division conference games. #23 Minnesota Duluth (11-2, 8-0 NSIC) visit first on Friday night at 5:30 p.m., before the St. Cloud State Huskies (9-3, 6-2 NSIC) travel to St. Paul on Saturday for a 3:30 tip-off.
 
BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
Fans are encouraged to buy tickets in advance and bring your QR code to the gates to skip the line! Friends and families who utilize the pass list will also be utilizing the online ticketing service while all students, faculty & staff will access their free CSP tickets through the service. Fans do not need to create a login, remember a username or password or download an app to purchase tickets, and tickets can still be purchased with cash at the gates. Find out more in the partnership announcement between CSP Athletics and HomeTown Ticketing.
 
WATCH ONLINE – NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC men's and women's basketball games will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, supported by BlueFrame Technology. Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Search "NSIC Network" and download the app for the league's full sport and team lineups. NSIC NETWORK FAQ
 
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear 
Athletics.

LAST TIME OUT
Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team dropped their final game of the 2022 calendar year to #5 Minnesota State on New Years Eve, 84-77.

Ally Gietzel and Megan Gamble led the Golden Bears, with each picking up 19 point, 11 rebound, double-doubles. It was Gietzel's second double of the year and tied her season highs in points and rebounds. It was the first career double-double for Gamble and career high's for the sophomore in both points and rebounds.

The game was back and forth with three ties, six lead changes, and leads of nine points or more for both teams. The first quarter was tight, with both teams getting to the basket and the foul line. The Mavs were a perfect 8-for-8 from the line including two by Destinee Bursch to help MSU close out the first quarter with a five point lead 23-17.

The Golden Bears responded in the second quarter with a 14-0 run, started and ended with baskets by Raegen Alexander. Alexander nearly pulled off her own double-double, scoring a career high 10 points and nine rebounds. The run gave the Golden Bears a short lived seven point lead, 37-30. The Mavericks closed out the half strong with a 9-2 run to tie it up 39-39 at the half. 

The CSP women's shooting was at its best in the third quarter, going 11-for-20 from the field (55 percent), including 3-of-5 from behind the arc. After exchanging layups and free throws, Leah Dengerud sparked the Golden Bears, hitting her second and third 3-pointers of the game to give Concordia a 52-43 lead. A converted three-point play by Gamble, a 3-pointer by Gietzel, and a pullup jumper by Alexander kept the lead at nine to close out the quarter 65-56. 

Another three-point play for Gamble to start the final quarter put Concordia up by 12 points, their biggest lead of the game. The next eight minutes were all Minnesota State, holding the CSP women to just five points over that time and pouring in 26, flipping a 12 point deficit, into a nine point lead. The MSU press took control of the fourth quarter forcing turnovers and bad shots, causing the Bears to shoot 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from the field and 0-for-3 from behind the arc. Late free-throws by Jadyn Hanson and a layup by Gietzel would close out the scoring for Concordia as the Mavs would go on to win 84-77.  
 
SERIES HISTORY: UMD 24, CSP 22
The Golden Bears and Bulldogs will meet for the 47th time this Saturday, with UMD holding a slight 24-22 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1975-76 season. The programs competed 12 times prior to CSP's move to Division II in 1999-2000 with UMD winning the early matchups 9-3 despite Concordia winning the first two and three of the first four between the 1975-76 and 1977-78 seasons.
 
Following the Comets' 69-59 win in 1978, the Bulldogs went on an 11-game winning streak against Concordia that spanned into CSP's DII-era when the name changed to Golden Bears. Following a 59-56 overtime win by Concordia in February, 2001 at Gangelhoff Center, Concordia has nearly evened the series by holding a 18-12 record in the last 30 meetings.
 
In league play, Concordia is 14-11 against the Bulldogs, who were members of the NSIC from 1999-2004 before joining the now-defunct NCC for the 2004-05 through 2007-08 seasons. Upon returning to the league in 2008-09, Concordia has held an 11-7 advantage.
  
Head coach Amanda Johnson holds a career 2-4 record against UMD, but is 2-0 against the Bulldogs at home in Gangelhoff Center.

LAST MEETING, 2021-22: UMD 86, CSP 42
The Bulldogs set the tone out of the gate, scoring the game's first 11 points and mounting a quick 20-3 lead with CSP narrowing it slightly to 25-11 at the first quarter break.

Senior Riley Wheatcraft, who had back-to-back 20-point, 4-three-point games, remained hot early by scoring all eight of her points on the night in the first quarter on 3-3 shooting including 2-2 from the arc.

As a team, CSP opened the game by hitting 3-of-5 from three but struggled inside, making 1-of-9 inside the arc.

That trend continued, as CSP went into the break having made 4-of-9 from three but just 3-of-23 on its two-point field goals as UMD pushed the lead into the 20-plus point margin with a 41-21 lead at half.

Things didn't even out from there, as CSP's shooting woes finished at 22.8 percent (13-57) from the field despite a solid showing from three-point distance at 41.2 percent (7-17). Inside the arc, it ended up being 6-of-40 for CSP.

The Bulldogs had their shot going all night, hitting at 53.8 percent (35-65) from the field and 53.3 percent (8-15) from deep. It's the highest anyone has shot against CSP's defense all year, and the shooting disparity also led to a big rebounding margin for UMD, 42-25.
 
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
#23 Minnesota Duluth enters the game on Friday undefeated in the conference and on a seven game win streak. Their defense has been the 23rd best in Division II and number one in the NSIC, giving up an average of 55.8 points per game. The Dogs have the seventh best offense in the NSIC (65.7 points per game) and the fourth best scoring margin (9.8). 

Their two losses this year have come to #9 Missouri Southern (54-51), and Michigan Tech (61-46). Michigan Tech and Parkside University are the two common opponents UMD shared with Concordia. CSP also dropped their game at Michigan Tech (64-54), both teams were victorious over Parkside with the Dogs winning 68-63, and the Bears winning 74-64.

Minnesota Duluth is led by the top scorer in the NSIC, Brooke Olsen. The Grad Senior was the 2021-22 NSIC North Player of the Year, First Team All-Conference, and WBCA All-American. Olsen is averaging a NSIC best 18.3 points per game, is fifth in blocks (15), and seventh in rebounds (86).


SERIES HISTORY: SCSU 20, CSP 17
The Golden Bears and Huskies will meet for the 38th time since 1977 on Saturday afternoon with the Huskies holding a 3-game lead in the all-time series. Prior to CSP's jump to Division II in 1999-2000, St. Cloud State controlled the series 3-1, meeting annually from the 1976-77 season to the 1979-80.
 
In Concordia's early Division II years, the Huskies held an 8-3 record from 1999-2000 to the 2006-07 season when SCSU was a member of the non-defunct North Central Conference (NCC). From 2007-08 to present (SCSU joined the NSIC in 2008-09), Concordia is 13-9 against SCSU including a 10-7 record in NSIC regular season games and a 2-2 record in the postseason. 

Coach Amanda Johnson has gone 4-5 against St. Cloud since taking over the head coaching position at CSP and her teams are 2-0 against the Huskies at home.

LAST MEETING, 2021-22 NSIC Semifinal: SCSU 78, CSP 49
NSIC South second-seed Concordia-St. Paul saw its run in the 2022 NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament come to and end in the semifinals at the hands of the NSIC North's top seed #13 St. Cloud State at the Sanford Pentagon.
 
Concordia was led by a pair of fourth year players, junior Meghan DuBois and sophomore Sydney Zgutowicz with 15 points each. Zgutowicz was 6-10 from the field, grabbed four rebounds and a pair of steals while DuBois hit a pair of three-pointers (2-5), got to the line six times (5-6), and had five assists.

The Huskies came out hot, hitting three straight three-pointers while starting the night on an 11-0 run.
 
Concordia made a pair of runs to get back into the game, starting with a 12-4 spurt in the first quarter in response to the 11-0 start by SCSU. During the run, Meghan DuBois and Riley Wheatcraft each had five points, with Wheatcraft opening the scoring with a three-pointer and concluding the run with a driving layup. CSP held SCSU to 1-6 shooting during the four and a half minute stretch of play and forced three turnovers.
 
But St. Cloud State scored the final six points of the quarter and held the Golden Bears to six points in the second as part of a 23-6 run to end the half.
 
In the second quarter, SCSU's defense held Concordia to 16.7 percent (2-12) shooting including 0-4 from the arc.
 
CSP's second field goal of the quarter was a short-lived momentum play as sophomore guard Jadyn Hanson hit a step-back jumper in the closing seconds. SCSU responded by hitting a contested baseball throw from just inside halfcourt at the buzzer, though, storming out to a 40-20 lead at the break.
 
The run continued to open the third, as SCSU scored the first seven points of the second half. Lindsey Becher's layup with 7:13 to play in the third quarter closed out the Huskies' 30-6 run spanning the end of the first through the start of the third quarter, turning a 3-point game (17-14) into a 27-point margin (47-20).

Becher's layup was the stop of SCSU's big run, and a few minutes later, Concordia started its own 10-0 run that included back-to-back three-pointers from Zgutowicz and then DuBois to make it a 17-point game (49-32) with 5:37 to play in the third.

It was Concordia's best quarter of the game, scoring 19 points on 43.4 percent (7-16) shooting but the Huskies kept pace, hitting 57.1 percent (8-14) from the field and scored 20 points.
 
After cutting it 17, the Huskies responded with the next seven points to restore the 20-plus point margin.
 
Concordia cut it down to 19 three times early in the fourth quarter, but were unable to sustain another big run and St. Cloud State would go in to win 78-49.

ABOUT THE HUSKIES
SCSU comes into the game on Saturday coming off of an undefeated New Years weekend, with wins over Minnesota Moorhead (80-62) and Northern State (74-53). Two of their three losses this season have come to Minnesota Duluth, losing at home 56-56, and on the road 64-55. Their third loss came to their only common opponent with CSP, Michigan Tech, falling in blowout fashion 82-49. 

St. Cloud State has been the second best defense in the NSIC so far, right behind Minnesota Duluth, giving up an average of 56.4 points per game. On offense they average 65.7 points per game on 41.9 percent shooting from the field, 33.9 percent from behind the arc, and 60.6 percent from the foul line. 

They have been very protective of the basketball this season, turning it over just 12.3 times per game, the seventh best in the country. Combined with the third most assists in the conference (191), they have the best assist to turnover ratio in the NSIC and ninth best in Division II at 1.29. The Huskies have given themselves a lot of second chance opportunities on the boards, averaging 12.8 offensive rebounds per game and rank fifth in the conference in rebounding margin at +4.2. 

SCSU's player to watch this week is fifth year senior Katrina Theis. The 5-11 forward is averaging the ninth most points in the NSIC (15.2) on the best shooting percentage in the conference (58.1 percent). Theis has pulled down the most offensive rebounds in the conference (38) and is averaging eight total rebounds a game. Her best game this season came against Minnesota Crookston when the Maple Grove native scored 37 points on 17-of-19 shooting from the field and was 1-for-1 from behind the arc.