ST. PAUL, Minn. - The No. 14 Golden Bear women's basketball team (11-0, 5-0 NSIC) faces its first ranked team of the season this week vs. No. 13 Minnesota State (9-2, 5-0 NSIC). Tip-off for the heavyweight clash is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19 in the Taylor Center. 

Concordia-St. Paul will then return home on Saturday, Dec. 21 against Minnesota Duluth (4-6, 2-3 NSIC) at 1 p.m. This will be CSP's last game of 2024 before returning in the new year. 

BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
Fans are encouraged to buy tickets in advance and bring their QR code to the gates to skip the line! Friends and families who utilize the pass list will also be utilizing the online ticketing service while all students, faculty & staff will access their free CSP tickets through the service. Fans do not need to create a login, remember a username or password or download an app to purchase tickets, and tickets can still be purchased with a credit card at the gate.

WATCH 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.

WBCA RANKINGS
Both CSP and Minnesota State fell a spot in this week's WBCA Coaches' Poll to 13 and 14. The Golden Bears received 20 fewer votes than last week and Minnesota State received 18 fewer votes. Seton Hill (10-0) didn't play this past week but jumped both teams moving from No. 14 to No. 12. 

Southwest Minnesota State (9-2, 3-2 NSIC) was the only other team to receive votes in the NSIC. The Mustangs received 22 votes in the poll. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears defeated Wayne State (4-5, 1-4 NSIC) 75-62 on Friday, Dec. 13 in the Gangelhoff Center. Junior guard Lydia Haack scored 25 points and senior center Lindsey Becher scored a season-high 22 points. Haack shot 3-3 on 3-pointers and 8-8 on free throws while Becher grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

Concordia-St. Paul turned the ball over a season-low six times while Wayne State turned the ball over 16 times, 10 of which were forced by Concordia steals. CSP outscored Wayne State 26-6 off of turnovers. 

With Concordia leading 29-22 at halftime, Haack came alive in the third quarter scoring 16 of her 25 total points. CSP finished the quarter on an 11-1 run with Haack assisting or scoring on nine of the 11 points. 

Senior guard Mikayla Kanenwisher added 10 points, tying her season-high total. She also added four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Senior forward Megan Gamble totaled six points shooting 3-3 from the field while grabbing five rebounds. 

Becher led the Golden Bears with 21 points in the 80-58 win over Augustana (1-9, 0-5 NSIC) on Saturday, Dec. 14. The senior only played 16:20 in the contest, but made the most of her minutes as she scored on nine of her last 10 shots. 

Haack assisted or scored on 14 of the 19 CSP first-quarter points. Concordia used a 15-2 run and a 14-4 run in the second quarter to lead 48-24 at halftime. Becher scored 12 of the 15 points in the initial 15-2 run. 

Sophomore forward Lauren Wilson scored 13 points with a team-high three steals and two blocks. She made a team-high three 3-pointers in the game. Haack finished with 12 points and six assists. Gamble scored seven points shooting 3-3 from the field. 

NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Becher was awarded NSIC Player of the Week following her performance this past week averaging 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks. This is the senior's second time winning the award and the third time the Golden Bears have won the award this season. 

SEASON LEADERS
Haack leads the Golden Bears averaging 16.4 points per game, ranking sixth in the NSIC. She's averaging 4.8 assists per game which is second in the conference and 12th in the nation. Haack's also averaging 5.7 rebounds and a team-high 1.7 steals. She ranks fifth in the NSIC in steals per game. 

Becher upped her average to 15 points per game after this weekend's performances, ranking 11th in the conference. She currently leads the conference in rebounding averaging 8.6 per game. Her 2.6 blocks per game is second in the NSIC and is fifth in the nation.  

Junior guard Leah Dengerud is aveaging 9.6 points per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, 2.3 assists per game and 1.5 steals per game. She's 12th in the NSIC in steals per game and 25th in assists per game.

Julia Bengtson is averaging 7.5 points per game and Ashley Schuelke is averaging 6.4. Gamble, Wilson and Kanenwisher are each averaging 5.2 points per game. Gamble's 7.6 rebounds per game ranks sixth in the conference.

The Golden Bears rank third in the NSIC in scoring average at 75.5 points per game. Concordia gives up the second-lowest points per game at 61.5. This 14 point margin ranks second in the conference. 

CSP allows the lowest opposing field goal percentage in the conference at 36% while shooting 42.5% from the field themselves, which is sixth in the NSIC. Concordia is second in the conference in rebounding averaging 42.5 per game. 

Concordia-St. Paul's 2.45 turnover margin ranks third in the conference. CSP ranks second in the conference averaging 5.55 blocked shots per game and third in the conference in assists averaging 16 per game. CSP's 9.55 steals per game ranks second. 

In the national picture, CSP's 1.11 assist/turnover ratio ranks 24th in the nation. They are fifth in blocked shots per game, 13th in defensive rebounds per game, 32nd in scoring offense and 44th in scoring defense. 

MILESTONES
Dengerud reached a career milestone this past week hitting 501 total career points. She becomes the third member of the current team to reach the 500-point milestone. 

RECORD WATCH
After blocking seven shots this past weekend, Becher now has 256 blocks in her career. This is eight blocks away from Kionda Nicks' program record of 264 career blocks. Becher is also 74 points away from entering the top 15 scorers all-time in program history. 

Gamble's offensive rebound average currently sits at seventh all-time in a season in program history. She is averaging 3.4 offensive rebounds per game. Haack's 16.4 points per game currently ranks 20th in a season and her 4.8 assists per game ranks 17th. 

The Golden Bears' 11-0 start is the second-most wins to start a season in school history. This is behind the 2007-08 team that started 18-0. 

11 straight wins is tied for the sixth-most in school history with 2003-04. With two wins this week, the Golden Bears will be tied for fifth with the 2010-11 squad. 

The 5-0 NSIC start is the fourth-best in program history. The last time a CSP women's basketball team started 5-0 in the NSIC was 2009-10. The best NSIC start in program history is 9-0 in 2007-08. 

IN THE NSIC STANDINGS
Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State sit at the top of the conference standings each at 5-0. MSU Moorhead is the only other undefeated team at 4-0. St. Cloud State is the lone one-loss team at 3-1. 

Southwest Minnesota State is 3-2 in NSIC play, only losing to CSP and Minnesota State. UMary, Northern State and Minnesota Crookston are each 2-2 in the NSIC. Winona State, Sioux Falls and Minnesota Duluth are each 2-3. 

IN THE NATION
The Golden Bears are one of 12 undefeated teams in NCAA Division II. The CSP men's team enters this week 9-2. Between both the men's and women's programs, Concordia-St. Paul is second in the nation in win percentage with a 20-2 record (90.9%). North Georgia at 18-1 (94.7%) is the top team in this category. 

MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: MSU 25, CSP 23

The Golden Bears have lost three straight games vs. Minnesota State and has lost four of the last five. CSP is 4-6 in the last 10 matchups vs. Minnesota State. 

Concordia lost the first six matchups between the two teams from 1975-99, but then won the next eight from 2000-07. Both of those are the longest win streaks for either team in the series. Minnesota State has not won four straight games against the Golden Bears since that initial streak. 

CSP is 11-12 all-time on the road in Mankato and 13-18 all-time vs. the Mavericks in conference play. Concordia's largest victory is 16 points in 2011 and MSU's largest victory is 30 points in 2022. 

LAST MEETING WITH THE MAVERICKS
The Golden Bears fell in Mankato on Dec. 19, 2023, by a score of 72-61 to the Mavericks. Concordia-St. Paul turned the ball over a season-high 35 times, leading to 38 points off of turnovers for Minnesota State. 

Minnesota State's full-court press forced 12 first-quarter turnovers, giving the Mavericks a 21-11 advantage after 10 minutes of play. Minnesota State led by 13 points at halftime after a 25-5 advantage on points off of turnovers at the half. 

CSP attempted to make a comeback in the final quarter, using a 16-4 run to cut the lead down to six points with 59 seconds left. The Mavericks made five out of their last six free throws to seal the win.

Gamble led the way with a season-high 16 points shooting 6-9 from the field and 3-3 from behind the arc. Her career-high is also against Minnesota State in 2022 with 19 points.  

Becher also scored 16 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter as she shot 5-7 from the field in the final period. Dengerud grabbed a team-high eight rebounds along with dishing out three assists and stealing the ball three times. Emma Mommsen scored eight points. 

Joey Batt led the Mavericks with 17 points shooting 8-13 from the field. She also stole the ball six times. Destinee Bursch finished with 16 points and Hannah Herzig added 15 points and five steals. 

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State entered the season No. 1 in the WBCA Coaches' Preseason Poll after winning the NCAA Division II National Championship against Texas Women's University, 89-73, last season. The Mavericks won 11-straight games to end the season last year averaging 89.2 points per game during that stretch. 

Minnesota State has lost two games this season. The first was to Northwest Missouri State (7-3, 0-2 MIAA) who was ranked No. 9 before losing its first two MIAA games last week. The Mavericks also suffered a four-point loss to Colorado School of Mines (2-8, 0-3 RMAC). 

Minnesota State has picked up NSIC wins against Minnesota Duluth, Wayne State, Augustana, Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. The Mavericks have won those games by an average of 16.4 points. This past weekend, MSU defeated SMSU, 101-83, and Sioux Falls, 91-88. 

Batt was the leading scorer for Minnesota State last season, averaging 16 points per game. Batt, Emily Herzberg and Emily Russo were three starters for the Mavericks that graduated after the championship victory. 

This season, the Mavericks are led by two-time NSIC Player of the Week Natalie Bremer averaging 21.8 points per game, which is second in the NSIC. Bremer was the only Maverick to start in all 37 games last season. The junior guard is also averaging a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game and an NSIC-high 3.3 steals per game. 

Bursch returns for her senior season and is averaging 17.7 points per game, ranking third in the NSIC. The guard is averaging a team-high 3.9 assists per game ranking sixth in the conference. 

Freshman guard Elisabeth Gadient has emerged for Minnesota State averaging 8.8 points per game. Gadient scored a season-high 17 points in Saturday's win vs. Sioux Falls.

Junior guards Mackenzie Schweim and Hannah Herzig are averaging 8.7 points and 8.2 points per game, respectively. Herzig is averaging three steals per game, ranking second in the NSIC. Junior forward Ava Stier has been Minnesota State's presence on the inside averaging 7.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. 

The Mavericks are leading the NSIC in points per game averaging 89.7 per game, but rank 14th in defense giving up 76.7 points per game. The 13-point margin is the third-best in the conference. In NSIC play, the Mavericks have the second-best scoring margin at 16.4. 

Minnesota State's average shooting percentage is 46.4%, ranking second in the NSIC. The Mavericks are 13th in the conference on 3-pointers, shooting 28% from behind the arc. Minnesota State leads the conference in rebounds averaging 43.1 per game. 

The Mavericks are destroying the rest of the NSIC in turnover margin at 8.91. For comparison, St. Cloud State is in second at 2.78 and CSP is in third at 2.45. MSU's opponents are averaging 26.2 turnovers per game. The Mavericks are averaging a league-high 16.36 steals per game. 

Emilee Thiesse is the head coach of the Mavericks in her 13th season. The national championship winning coach has a 237-118 overall record with the Mavericks. She earned NSIC Coach of the Year last season. 

MINNESOTA DULUTH SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: UMD 27, CSP 23

The Golden Bears have lost five of the last six games vs. Minnesota Duluth, breaking a four game win streak with a win last December. CSP is 3-7 in the last 10 matchups. 

Concordia-St. Paul won three of the first four matchups before Duluth won 11-straight games from 1978-2001. Concordia's longest win streak is four games from 2013-15. 

The Golden Bears are 15-7 all-time at home vs. Minnesota Duluth and 15-12 all-time in conference play. CSP's largest margin of victory is 32 points in both 1976 and 2014. The Bulldogs' largest win was by 44 points in 2022. 

LAST MEETING WITH THE BULLDOGS
Concordia went 1-1 against Minnesota Duluth last season, winning the first matchup 69-60 against the No. 22 Bulldogs on Dec. 14, 2024. The Bulldogs ended CSP's season in the NSIC Quarterfinals with a 66-57 victory as the No. 6 seed. 

Concordia had four different scorers reach double digits in the 69-60 victory. Minnesota Duluth never had the lead in the game as CSP kept a steady lead throughout the game. CSP hit 9-11 free throws to end the game after shooting 4-13 from the charity stripe before that stretch. 

Becher led the way with 17 points and seven rebounds. Wilson scored 15 points shooting 6-8 from the field. Ally Gietzel finished 13 points after scoring 11 in the second half. Dengerud scored 10 points and Gamble had seven with a season-high five assists. 

The Bulldogs were led by Madelyn Granica with 15 points and seven rebounds. Taytum Rhoades scored 14 points with four assists. Taya Hakamaki scored nine points and Ella Gilbertson scored seven. 

In the second game, UMD outscored Concordia 25-13 in the fourth quarter to get the victory. Concordia led 44-41 heading into the fourth quarter, but Minnesota Duluth found success at the free throw line shooting 12-12 despite only shooting 5-13 from the field in the final quarter.

Becher led the Golden Bears with 17 points and Wilson added 14 points with nine rebounds. Dengerud scored 12 points, nine of which came in the first half. Gietzel tallied 10 points. 

Gilbertson led Minnesota Duluth scoring 18 points and shot 8-8 from the free-throw line. Granica finished with 14 points and Abby Johnson scored 13 points off the bench. 

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs enter this week on a two-game win streak vs. Augustana and Wayne State. Before those games, UMD had lost three straight games by double digits against Minnesota State, Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. Duluth finished 2-3 in nonconference play. 

Minnesota Duluth lost Rhoades, Granica, Gilbertson, Hakamaki and Johnson to graduation. This season, junior guard Myra Moorjani is leading the Bulldogs averaging 14.9 points per game and 4.2 assists per game. She ranks 12th in the NSIC in scoring and third in assists. 

Claire Bjorge is averaging 12.7 points per game during her freshman campaign. She leads the team in steals per game averaging 1.2. Senior center Johanna Miller is averaging 10.6 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game. 

Junior forward Lexi Karge returns for the Bulldogs averaging a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game. Karge is also scoring 8.3 points per game. Lexi Karlen is averaging eight points per game during her sophomore campaign. Freshman Vanessa Bickford has emerged onto the scene averaging 6.6 points per game. 

Minnesota Duluth is averaging 68.3 points per game and is giving up 72.3 points per game. This -4 margin ranks 12th in the conference. UMD has the fourth-highest field goal percentage in the conference at 42.9%. 

The Bulldogs are led by head coach Mandy Pearson. She's won four NSIC Tournament Championships with the Bulldogs and led them to a national runner-up finish in 2022-23. Pearson has a 179-84 overall record in 10 seasons with Minnesota Duluth.