ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (11-10, 8-9 NSIC) defeated the Sioux Falls Cougars (6-17, 3-14 NSIC) on Friday night 64-46. The victory makes it three in a row for the Golden Bears as they move two games ahead of Wayne State for the fourth seed in the NSIC South.

The Golden Bears were led by Ally Gietzel who matched her career high in scoring with 27 points. The junior wing was incredibly efficient shooting the basketball, making 7-of-14 from the field, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, and knocking down all 10 of her shots from the foul line. Gietzel was a rebound away from a double-double with nine boards to go along with five assists and two blocks. 

Jalyn Shaw was the other CSP player in double digits, posting 10 points with five rebounds, an assist and a steal. 

The two teams were even through the first quarter with both sides playing tough defense and limiting their opponents opportunities. The two sides traded baskets with Sarah Kuma closing out the scoring in the opening quarter to make it 10-10. 

The Golden Bear offense began to break through in the second quarter while their defense turned the pressure up on the Cougars. Concordia shot 50-percent from the field in the period (8-of-16), and was excellent from 3-point range shooting 66.7-percent (4-of-6). It was a different story for USF as they shot just 20-percent from the field in the second quarter (3-of-15) and missed both of their foul shots while scoring just six points to Concordia's 20. Starting at the 6:07 mark, the Golden Bears would reel off a 15-2 run that would last until the half, putting them up 30-16 heading into the locker room 

Concordia would shoot over 50-percent from deep again in the third quarter, hitting three of their five while shooting 8-of-17 from the field overall. Sioux Falls fought hard to get back in the game, going on a 16-8 run through the middle of the quarter but it was quickly erased by a 13-4 run by CSP. Gietzel capped off the third quarter with a buzzer-beating pull-up jump shot to send the Golden Bears into the final quarter with a 53-46 lead. 

Neither school shot well in the fourth quarter as the two teams combined to shoot 7-of-25 from the field and were 0-of-8 from behind the arc. Concordia was able to keep their advantage in points from the foul line, going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe to close out the game with an 18 point lead for the 64-46 victory. 

It was the fifth time this season that the Golden Bears held their opponents to under 50 points and their eighth double-digit win. They shot 40-percent from the field for the game (22-55), including 7-of-19 from 3-point range. The Concordia women shot 92.9-percent from the foul line (13-14), making it back to back games shooting 90-percent or higher from the line. 

The Golden Bears will try to make it four-straight wins tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. when they take on Southwest Minnesota State at Gangelhoff Center.