ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Golden Bear women's basketball squad (8-2, 4-1 NSIC) returns home in the Gangelhoff Center against No. 19 Minnesota Duluth (7-2, 4-1 NSIC) with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14.
BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE – AVOID THE LINE!
Fans are encouraged to buy tickets in advance and bring your QR code to the gates to skip the line! New for 2023, Concordia will be a cashless ticket experience for fans, so if you don't purchase ahead, make sure to bring your card to make your purchase at the gate.
Friends and families who utilize the pass list will also be utilizing the online ticketing service, while faculty & staff will access their free CSP tickets through the service. CSP students will have their all-sport season passes sent directly to their csp.edu email address.
Fans do not need to create a login, remember a username or password or download an app to purchase tickets. BUY ONLINE
WATCH HOME GAMES ONLINE – NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC basketball games will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, and 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
All home games will feature the play-by-play broadcasting provided by Dan Flanagan, the voice of the Golden Bears for over a decade. The St. Paul, Minnesota native studied broadcasting at Fordham University (N.Y.) where he was the voice of the Rams' football and basketball teams in the NCAA Division I Patriot League.
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 was on the road this past weekend for a doubleheader, losing the first game to Southwest Minnesota State (4-6, 3-2 NSIC), 64-62. Senior guard Ally Gietzel scored her second-highest total of the season with 27 points which included making a season-high 11 field goals on 18 attempts. She led the team with seven rebounds and three steals.
The Golden Bears had a fairly balanced scoring attack behind Gietzel. Junior forward Megan Gamble scored eight points, sophomore guard Leah Dengerud tallied seven points and sophomore guard Lauren Feddema scored seven points.
CSP trailed 33-23 at the half but used a 13-2 run to tie the game at 42-42 just before the end of the third quarter. SMSU guard Bri Stoltzman would score four unanswered points to keep the run at bay. With the Mustangs leading 54-51 in the fourth quarter, senior guard Hannah Parsley hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to six. Down by two late in the game, Gietzel and Lindsey Becher both had opportunities to tie the game for the Golden Bears, but they each missed their final shots.
CSP tied its highest margin of victory on Saturday against Sioux Falls (3-6, 1-4 NSIC) with a 63-39 win. After trailing 18-15 in the first quarter, the Golden Bears outscored the Cougars 48-21 the rest of the game. Concordia held Sioux Falls to 29.4% from the field and 0-14 from behind the arc. The Golden Bears shot 40.4% from the field.
Gietzel led the Golden Bears in scoring with 13 points, in rebounds with seven and in assists with three. Dengerud added 10 points, six rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Mikayla Kanenwisher scored eight points and senior forward Jalyn Shaw scored a season-high eight points.
SEASON LEADERS
Gietzel's team-leading 19 points per game is fourth in the NSIC and 19th in NCAA Division II. She has the eighth-best free throw percentage in the conference at 80.5% on the second-most attempts in the NSIC. Gietzel is averaging 38.1 minutes per game which is first in the NSIC and fourth in the nation. She leads the team in rebounds averaging 7.1 per game and is tied for the team lead in assists averaging 2.3. She is seventh in the NSIC in rebounds per game.
Redshirt freshman forward Lauren Wilson is second on the team in points per game averaging 12.5. Becher is third on the team averaging 11.8 points per game. She has 23 blocks on the season which is second in the NSIC and 11th in Division II. She also has the 10th-best field goal percentage in the league at 44.6%.
Dengerud is averaging 9.2 points per game along with 2.3 assists per game. She has the eighth most minutes per game in the NSIC averaging 32.4 per game. She also leads the team in steals per game with 1.7.
IN THE NSIC STANDINGS
Following the loss to Southwest Missouri State, the Golden Bears now sit in a tie for second place with three other one-loss teams. Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State and UMary all only have one conference loss. Northern State is the lone undefeated team in the conference sitting in first place with a 4-0 NSIC record and an 8-2 overall record.
MINNESOTA DULUTH SERIES HISTORY
Series History: Minnesota Duluth 26, CSP 22
After winning three of the first four matchups in the series' history, Concordia lost 11 straight matchups against Minnesota Duluth from 1978-2001. Concordia-St. Paul's longest win streak in the series is four games from 2014-15.
The Golden Bears have lost the last four matchups against the Bulldogs. None of the matchups have been particularly close with CSP losing the four games by a combined score of 304-186. Concordia has a 14-7 record at home against Duluth.
LAST MEETING WITH THE BULLDOGS
Minnesota Duluth ended CSP's 2022-23 season in the conference tournament 82-55 on Feb. 25. Gietzel led the Golden Bears with 24 points and eight rebounds in the game. Shaw added seven points in the loss.
Minnesota Duluth was led by now-graduated Brooke Olson with 28 points and seven rebounds. Taytum Rhoades scored 13 points, four rebounds and four assists. Lexi Karge scored 14 points off of the bench for the Bulldogs.
The game was tied at 17-17 after the first quarter. Duluth was able to take a seven-point lead into halftime. Minnesota Duluth rolled in the third quarter outscoring the Golden Bears 25-12, which ultimately ended the game. Minnesota Duluth shot 58.3% from the field compared to 43.2% for CSP. The Bulldogs dominated the battle in the paint 62-26.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Minnesota Duluth is coming off of a 32-4, 21-1 NSIC record last season with an NCAA National Championship Runner-Up finish. The Bulldogs won the NSIC Regular Season and Tournament Championship last season.
The Bulldogs were ranked No. 19 in last week's Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. Minnesota Duluth went 1-1 this past weekend defeating Sioux Falls, but losing to Southwest Minnesota State 86-80 on Saturday. Duluth and CSP have played five common opponents this season with both teams going 4-1 in those games. Both teams' only loss is to Southwest Minnesota State among their common opponents.
Minnesota Duluth has led a balanced scoring attack this season with three different players averaging 12 or more points per game. Senior guard Taya Hakamaki leads the Bulldogs averaging 13.9 points per game, which is ninth in the NSIC. She's shooting a conference-leading 50.6% from the field and 38.5% from behind the arc.
Rhoades returns as a graduate student averaging 13 points per game along with a team-high 3.4 assists per game. She's also leading the Bulldogs in rebounds per game averaging 6.1. Rhoades is sixth in the NSIC in assists and 13th in rebounds. Senior Madelyn Granica is averaging 12 points per game along with 3.6 rebounds per game.
Karge is averaging eight points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game during her sophomore campaign this season. Senior Ella Gilbertson is averaging 7.8 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game. Minnesota Duluth's starters account for 54.7 of their average 70 points per game.
The Bulldogs are the fourth-highest scoring offense in the NSIC and the third-best defense in points per game in the NSIC. They lead the conference in field goal percentage at 46.8% which is better than the second-place Golden Bears at 43.1%. They also lead the conference in blocks per game averaging 5.9 which is also fifth in the nation.
Minnesota Duluth is led by head coach Mandy Pearson. She holds a career record of 163-70 coming into this game with the Golden Bears. Pearson has led the Bulldogs to four NSIC Tournament Championships and three NSIC Regular Season Championships. Duluth has qualified for the NCAA Tournament each of the last five seasons.
