ST. PAUL, Minn. - Lindsey Becher posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds as the Golden Bear women's basketball team (10-3, 5-2 NSIC) beat Minot State (4-12, 1-6 NSIC) 58-39 on Friday night. CSP held the Beavers to 17 points in the second half which included holding Minot State scoreless for 6:32 and without a field goal for 10:37.
With a five-point lead in the third quarter, junior guard Mikayla Kanenwisher hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 32-24. That five-point lead would be the closest the score was for the rest of the night.
The Golden Bears shot 7-14 in the first quarter to start the game with a 16-13 lead. Minot State's Jaime Skeggs hit a running 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the Golden Bear lead down to three points. CSP outrebounded Minot State 11-5 in the opening 10 minutes of play. Becher went 3-3 in the first quarter with six points and senior guard Ally Gietzel added five for CSP.
The Golden Bears extended their lead to 29-22 at halftime after a defensive second quarter. Both teams shot a combined 30.3% in the quarter. Becher led all scoring with six points in the quarter to have 12 at the half.
The shooting struggles continued in the third quarter with both teams combining for 6-31 from the field. CSP's defense held Minot State to 2-14 from the field forcing four turnovers. The Golden Bears outscored Minot State 12-7 in the quarter to extend their lead to 12. '
The Golden Bears went 7-17 in the fourth quarter to score their highest point total in a quarter on the night at 17 points. Redshirt freshman guard Ella Campbell hit a 3-point to extend CSP's lead to 18 points.
Following that 3-pointer, senior forward Jalyn Shaw hit one of her own from behind the arc and then made a fast-break layup on the next possession after a steal by Lauren Feddema. The Golden Bears had their largest lead of the game at 24 points with 43 seconds left before Minot State scored the final five points to end the contest.
Becher went 8-16 from the field and added two steals. Gietzel finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists. She played for 31:43 which was her lowest amount of minutes in a Golden Bear victory this season. Her previous lowest was 33:13 in the season opener against Southeastern Oklahoma.
Kanenwisher fished with seven points shooting 2-3 from behind the arc. She also added two assists and two steals to her totals. Redshirt freshman center Emma Mommsen shot 3-4 from the field to finish with seven points and four rebounds. Shaw finished with five points and Megan Gamble had four points.
Minot State was led by Vilborg Jonsdottir with nine points. Sydney Gustavsson finished with eight points and Maya Aguilar had seven points. Lorelei McIver led the Beavers in rebounds with nine.
39 points allowed tied the season-low defensive total for the Golden Bears this season with the previous time happening against Sioux Falls in the 63-39 victory on Dec. 9. CSP outscored Minot State 36-20 in the paint and 13-7 on second-chance points. The Golden Bears outrebounded the Beavers 51-36. CSP finished shooting 24-67 from the field and Minot State finished at 15-56.
Concordia-St. Paul is back in action on Saturday against UMary (9-6, 5-2 NSIC). The Marauders beat Minnesota Duluth (8-4, 5-3 NSIC) on Friday night, 77-66. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. in the Gangelhoff Center.
