ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (20-7, 16-6 NSIC) will start postseason play in the NSIC Tournament against Minnesota Duluth (18-9, 14-8 NSIC). Tip-off is scheduled for Sunday, March 3 at 7 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 

Both teams met last season in the NSIC Tournament quarterfinals when the Bulldogs ended CSP's 2022-23 campaign with an 82-55 victory. 

The winner advances to the semifinals on March 4 to play the winner between UMary and St. Cloud State. The NSIC Championship game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. 

LAST TIME OUT

Concordia-St. Paul defeated St. Cloud State on Senior Day to clinch a first-round bye in the NSIC Tournament. The Golden Bears held the Huskies scoreless for the final 6:21 of the game to get a 57-51 victory on Saturday, Feb. 24. 

CSP held the Huskies to 1-13 shooting from the field and outscored them 16-4 in the fourth quarter. St. Cloud State held the lead for 33:35 in the game compared to only four minutes for the Golden Bears. 

Sophomore guard Leah Dengerud and junior center Lindsey Becher led the team scoring 13 points each. Dengerud finished with a season-high five steals along with four assists. Becher blocked a season-high six shots grabbing five rebounds. 

Redshirt freshman forward Lauren Wilson scored 12 points with six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Senior guard Ally Gietzel scored 11 points in the victory shooting 4-4 from the free throw line. Junior guard Mikayla Kanenwisher scored eight points with four blocks and two assists. 

SEASON LEADERS

Gietzel and Becher were named to the All-NSIC First Team following their performances this season. Both players reached the 1,000-point mark this season in their careers. Gietzel is fifth in the NSIC averaging 15.9 points per game and 10th in rebounding averaging 6.7 per game. Becher is 13th in the NSIC in points per game averaging 13.4 and tied for 13th in rebounds averaging 6.1. 

Gietzel is second in the NSIC in minutes per game averaging 35.9. Her 81.6% free throw percentage is sixth in the NSIC this season. She's also averaging 1.5 steals per game which ties her for 15th in the conference. 

Becher leads the NSIC in blocks per game averaging 2.4, which is also 10th in the nation. The junior's 47.1% field goal percentage is fourth in the conference. She's also shooting 77.3% from the free-throw line. 

Wilson is averaging 12.8 points per game putting her at 17th in the NSIC. She's also grabbing 5.2 rebounds per game and throwing 1.9 assists per game. Dengerud is averaging 7.9 points per game and leads the team in steals per game with 1.6. Kanenwisher is averaging 3.3 assists per game which is fifth in the conference.

The Golden Bears are second in the nation in blocks per game averaging 5.85 as a team. CSP has the second-best defense in the NSIC allowing 58.4 points per game. The team is averaging 65.7 points per game, which is sixth in the NSIC. Concordia-St. Paul allows the lowest opposing field goal percentage in the conference with opponents shooting 35.8% from the field. 

NSIC TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Concordia-St. Paul has won the NSIC Tournament four times with the most recent victory coming in 2013-14. The Golden Bears won the NCAA Central Region Tournament and reached the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals for the first time that season. 

Head coach Amanda Johnson (Behnke) has been a part of three of the four NSIC Tournament tiles. She won the first two as the NSIC Player of the Year and was an assistant coach during the 2013-14 season. Concordia-St. Paul is 5-9 in the NSIC Tournament in Johnson's head coaching career. 

BRACKET AND SCHEDULE

The NSIC Tournament started with the opening round matchups between the 5-12 seeds on Wednesday night. Minnesota Duluth defeated Sioux Falls by a score of 73-69 to advance to the quarterfinals against CSP.

Quarterfinal action starts on Saturday, March 2 as top-seeded No. 21 Minnesota State plays eighth-seeded MSU Moorhead at 4:30 p.m. That game is followed by No. 2 UMary playing No. 7 St. Cloud State at 7 p.m.

No. 4 Northern State and No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State start the action on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. before the Golden Bears play the Bulldogs. Semifinals take place on Monday, March 4 at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The NSIC Championship is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5. 

MINNESOTA DULUTH SERIES HISTORY

Series History: Concordia-St. Paul 23, Minnesota Duluth 26

The Golden Bears are 2-3 all-time against Minnesota Duluth in the NSIC Tournament. Concordia-St. Paul is  3-10 all-time in neutral sites against the Bulldogs. CSP is 4-6 in the last 10 matchups against Duluth. 

LAST MEETING WITH THE BULLDOGS

Concordia-St. Paul defeated Minnesota Duluth 69-60 in the lone matchup between the teams earlier this season. Becher, Wilson, Gietzel and Dengerud combined for 55 of the team's 69 points.

Minnesota Duluth never held the lead in the game, with CSP holding it for a total of 35:28. Concordia outscored Duluth 44-32 in the paint and shot 49.1% from the field compared to 37.5% for Duluth. The Golden Bears went 9-11 on free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

Becher finished with a team-high 17 points shooting 8-14 from the field with seven rebounds. Wilson shot 6-8 from the field to score 15 points. Gietzel scored 13 points with seven rebounds and four assists. Dengerud made the lone two 3-pointers of the game for CSP finishing with 10 points. 

Minnesota Duluth was led by senior forward Madelyn Granica with 15 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Taytum Rhoades scored 14 points while dishing out four assists. Senior guard Taya Hakamaki finished with nine points.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS

Minnesota Duluth enters this game after two straight victories and going 6-2 in its last eight. The Bulldogs defeated St. Cloud State, 64-63, in the regular season finale to earn the No. 6 seed. 

Hakamaki leads the Bulldogs in points per game averaging 12.1, but has not played since Feb. 2. Rhoades is averaging 11.8 points per game and was an All-NSIC First Team selection. She's second in the NSIC in assists dishing out 4.6 per game. The senior guard is also fourth in the NSIC in blocks per game averaging 1.4. 

Senior forward Ella Gilbertson was named All-NSIC Second Team. She's averaging 10.6 points per game this season and 6.1 rebounds per game. She is tied for 13th in rebounds with Becher. Granica is averaging 10 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs. 

The Bulldogs are averaging 67.5 points per game which is fourth in the NSIC, and they are giving up 61.9 points per game which is sixth in the conference. That +5.6 margin is seventh in the NSIC. The Bulldogs have the best team field goal percentage in the conference shooting 43.8%. Duluth is third in the NSIC in blocked shots averaging 4.3 per game. 

Mandy Person is in her ninth season as the head coach of Minnesota Duluth. She has a career record of 174-77 coming into this game. Pearson has led the Bulldogs to four NSIC Tournament Championships and three NSIC Regular Season Championships in her career. The Bulldogs have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons.