ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (9-2, 5-1 NSIC) is on the road on Tuesday afternoon against Minnesota State (8-4, 5-1 NSIC) for the team's last game before the holiday break. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Taylor Center in Mankato. 

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

The Golden Bears defeated the defending NSIC Champions in Minnesota Duluth on Thursday night. Concordia-St. Paul held the lead for a total of 35:28 in the game while Duluth never had the lead. CSP shot 49.1% from the field compared to 37.5% for Duluth in the 69-60 victory. The Golden Bears held an advantage in every quarter. They outscored the Bulldogs in the paint 44-32 and off of turnovers, 15-8. 

The Golden Bears had four different scorers reach double digits in the contest. Lindsey Becher finished with a team-high 17 points along with seven rebounds. Redshirt freshman forward Lauren Wilson scored 15 points shooting 6-8 from the field. Ally Gietzel scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and three blocks. 

Sophomore Leah Dengerud hit CSP's only two 3-pointers in the game, but they both came at key moments for the Golden Bears when Duluth was threatening to come back. She finished with 10 points in the game. Junior forward Megan Gamble tallied a season-high five assists with seven points in the contest. 

SEASON LEADERS

Gietzel is averaging 18.5 points per game which is fourth in the NSIC and 28th in the country. Wilson is second on the team averaging 12.7 points per game which is 15th in the NSIC. Becher's game against Duluth brought her average up to 12.3 points per game which is 19th in the NSIC

Gietzel's 7.1 rebounds per game is seventh in the NSIC. She also leads the conference in minutes per game averaging 38.1. That is also third in the nation as well. Becher is averaging 5.2 rebounds per game and Wilson is averaging 4.4 rebounds per game. Becher leads the team in blocks with 2.4 per game. 

Dengerud is averaging 9.3 points per game along with a team-high 1.7 steals per game. She's also averaging 2.2 assists per game.

IN THE NSIC STANDINGS

The Golden Bears are now tied for first place following Northern State's 69-68 loss to Minnesota Crookston on Saturday. There is now a three-way tie at the top of the conference between Minnesota State, Northern State and Concordia-St. Paul. 

There are five different teams tied for second place in the conference with two losses. Those teams are Minnesota Duluth, Southwest Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, Minnesota Crookston and UMary. 

MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY

Series History: Minnesota State 24, CSP 23

Both teams first met in 1975 with Concordia losing the first six matchups. The Golden Bears then won the eight matchups including their first win over the Mavericks in 2000.

Minnesota State holds a 6-4 advantage over CSP in the last 10 matchups. The Mavericks have won both matchups against Concordia last season. The Golden Bears are 11-11 all-time on the road in Mankato.

LAST MEETING WITH THE MAVERICKS

Both teams last met on Dec. 31, 2022, when Minnesota State defeated Concordia-St. Paul 84-77 in the Gangelhoff Center. The Golden Bears held a 65-56 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Minnesota State outscored CSP 28-12 in the fourth quarter. 

Gietzel led the Golden Bears with a double-double. She scored 19 points while adding 11 rebounds. She also had four blocks and three assists. Gamble also tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double of her own. Dengerud had 12 points and Raegan Alexander added 10 for the Golden Bears. 

The Mavericks were led in scoring by guard Natalie Bremer with 15 points off of the bench. Forward Ava Stier scored 14 points for the Mavericks. Emily Herzberg tallied 11 points and Destinee Bursch put up 10 points. 

Minnesota State used a full-court press to force 25 turnovers with 16 steals. The Mavericks outscored CSP 36-15 off of turnovers. Minnesota State used a 26-5 run in the fourth quarter to defeat the Golden Bears. 

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS

Minnesota State's lone NSIC loss came in its first conference loss to Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 21. The Mavericks have won six straight games since then going into this contest with the Golden Bears. 

The Mavericks are led by senior guard Joey Batt averaging 18.1 points per game. She didn't start playing this season until their sixth game against Minnesota Duluth. That game is her only loss playing for the Mavericks this season. Batt also leads the team in assists averaging 3.4 a game. She's shooting 51.7% from the field and 38.9% from behind the arc. She won NSIC Player of the Week last week for her performances against Augustana and Wayne State. Batt became Minnesota State's all-time steals leader in the win over Winona State on Thursday.

Bursch is averaging 13.8 points per game in her junior season which is the ninth highest in the NSIC. She leads the team in rebounds averaging 4.3 per game and adds on 3.2 assists per game. Bremer is averaging 13.0 points per game shooting 41.7% from the field. 

Minnesota State has the highest-scoring offense in the NSIC averaging 76.6 points per game. They have the fifth-best defense giving up 62.2 points per game. Their points margin of 14.4 is at the top of the NSIC leaderboard. They have the second-highest rebound average per game at 41.3 per game. They are ranked fifth nationally in turnover margin with an astounding +11.08 margin. 

Head coach Emilee Thiesse is in her 12th season with Minnesota State. She has a career record of 204-115 with the Mavericks. Minnesota State has qualified for the NCAA Tournament four times during her tenure.