ST. PAUL, Minn. - Lindsey Becher scored a season-high 23 points and hit the go-ahead free throws to give Concordia-St. Paul (15-5, 11-4) a 59-57 victory over Winona State (5-15, 4-11). This is the second time that the Golden Bears and Warriors have played til the final seconds this season, with CSP hitting a buzzer-beater earlier this season to get the win in Winona.
Trailing 43-36 heading into the fourth quarter, Winona State used a 16-2 run to take a 51-45 lead over CSP with 3:39 left in the game. The Warriors eventually extended their advantage to 54-47, but CSP forward Megan Gamble scored a layup and Becher hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to three points.
Following a missed 3-pointer by Winona State, Becher hit a turnaround jumper in the paint to cut the lead to one point. Winona State used most of the shot clock on the next possession, and redshirt freshman Lauren Wilson blocked a shot to give the Golden Bears the ball back. On the next possession, Becher made a right-handed layup from the left side to give CSP a 55-54 lead.
After another stop, Wilson hit free throws to extend the Golden Bear lead to 57-54. Winona State then ended its 2:53 scoreless streak with a 3-pointer by Mattie Schimenz on the next possession to tie the game at 57-57 with 6.4 left. The Golden Bears answered as Becher was fouled on a shot with 1.4 left and made both free throws to give Concordia the victory.
After being tied 5-5 in the first quarter, the Warriors used an 8-0 run to gain an early 13-5 advantage on CSP. Winona State made its first three 3-pointers to start the contest causing Concordia to call the first timeout of the game.
The Golden Bears didn't go away, using a 10-2 run to tie the game at 15-15. Winona State was held scoreless for 4:04 before scoring a basket to take a late 17-15. Wilson hit a tough shot at the buzzer to tie the game 17-17 after the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, Gamble scored through contact to give CSP its first lead of the game at 19-17. The Golden Bears used that basket to spark a run to get its largest advantage of the quarter at 24-17.
After making those first three 3-pointers, Winona then missed its next nine from the field. This was amended as the Warriors made their next three from behind the arc to spark an 11-1 run to end the quarter and take a 28-25 lead at the half. CSP was held without a field goal for the last 4:41 of the first half.
Concordia-St. Paul's best quarter of the evening was the third quarter, which started with a banked-in 3-pointer by sophomore guard Leah Dengerud. The Golden Bears used an 8-0 run behind 3-pointers by Dengerud and Wilson to take a 40-32 lead. CSP outscored Winona 18-8 in the quarter and held the Warriors scoreless for 6:04.
Becher added six rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block to her 23-point night. Dengerud scored 14 points making her first four 3-pointers in the game. Wilson finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and a career-high six assists.
Gamble grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds scoring five points. Junior guard Mikayla Kanenwisher finished with seven points and six assists. Concordia-St. Paul's five starters were the only players to score for the Golden Bears.
Winona State was led by Olivia Gamoke with 13 points. She also had three assists and three rebounds. Senior Emma Carpenter finished with 11 points. Winona's bench outscored CSP's bench 14-0.
The game featured five lead changes and eight ties. Concordia outscored Winona 24-16 in the paint, but the Warriors outscored the Golden Bears 12-2 off of turnovers. CSP won the rebounding battle 44-37. It was a tough shooting day for both teams as Concordia shot 38.6% and Winona shot 30.6% from the field.
The Golden Bears remain tied for fourth place in the NSIC following the win. No. 22 Minnesota State was the only other top-five team in the NSIC standings to play on Tuesday night.
Concordia-St. Paul will be on the road this weekend as the Golden Bears face off against Wayne State (5-12, 2-12 NSIC) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and Augustana (5-13, 4-10) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
