ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (16-2, 10-2 NSIC) travels north to face Minot State (N.D.) (5-14, 4-8 NSIC) on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. CSP will then face UMary (N.D.) (9-7, 6-6 NSIC) on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears picked up a pair of home wins against Minnesota Crookston (6-12, 4-8 NSIC) and Bemidji State (4-12, 2-10 NSIC). After being tied 38-38 at halftime against the Golden Eagles, CSP pulled away in the second half outscoring UMC 34-16 in the final 14 minutes to secure an 81-69 victory.

Trailing 60-59 in the fourth quarter, senior guard Julia Bengtson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Golden Bears a 65-60 lead. This sparked an 11-0 run that became too much for Minnesota Crookston to come back from.

Senior center Lindsey Becher scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. She also dished out a season-high four assists. Lydia Haack scored 18 points, all in the second half, and Leah Dengerud scored 17 points shooting 6-11 (54.5%) from the field.

Megan Gamble put up her second-career double-double and Emma Mommsen scored a career-high 14 points in Concordia-St. Paul's 71-51 win over Bemidji State on Saturday. Leading 23-21 in the second quarter, CSP went on a 13-3 run to end the half and outscored the Beavers 23-7 in the third quarter to pick up the win. 

Mommsen and Haack led the team with 14 points each. Mommsen also grabbed a season-high seven rebounds. Becher finished with 12 points and a season-high five blocks. Dengerud added 10 points. 

Gamble finished with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Her first double-double of her career was on Dec. 31, 2022, against Minnesota State during her sophomore season. This was Gamble's ninth game this season with nine or more rebounds. 

WBCA RANKINGS
Last week's split at No. 21 between CSP and Belmont Abbey (N.C.) (14-2) was broken this week with Belmont Abbey staying at No. 21 and Concordia going to No. 22. Southwest Minnesota State (16-2, 10-2 NSIC) stayed at No. 23. 

NSIC-leading Minnesota State (17-2, 13-0 NSIC) jumped four spots to No. 6. This puts the Mavericks as the highest-ranked team in the region. No. 8 Pittsburg State (Kan.) (16-2) and No. 11 Fort Hays State (Kan.) (14-2) are the other ranked teams in the region. 

SEASON LEADERS
Haack leads the Golden Bears averaging 15.9 points per game and 4.7 assists per game. She is seventh in the NSIC in scoring and second in the conference in assists. She's also 21st in the nation in total assists with 84 and 33rd in assist/turnover ratio. 

Becher is second on the team averaging 13.1 points per game, leads the team in rebounding with 8.1 per game and leads the team in blocks averaging 2.6 per game. In the NSIC, she ranks 14th in points, fourth in rebounds and second in blocked shots. Her blocked shot average ranks sixth in the nation. 

Dengerud is averaging 10.7 points per game with 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. She's tied for 11th in assists in the conference. Her 41.6% 3-point percentage ranks second in the conference and 23rd in the nation. 

Bengtson is averaging 8.8 points per game and Ashley Schuelke is averaging 6.3 points per game. Gamble and Lauren Wilson each average 5.3 points per game. Gamble's 7.4 rebounds per game ranks sixth in the NSIC. 

As a team, the Golden Bears allow the least amount of points of anyone in the NSIC at 60.8 points per game. Concordia is third in the conference offensively scoring 74.4 points per game. CSP's 13.7 points per game margin ranks third in the NSIC. 

The Golden Bears have the best opposing field goal percentage in the NSIC holding teams to 36.4% from the field. CSP has the highest assist/turnover ratio, most blocked shots and most assists in the conference. CSP has the second-highest steal average and turnover ratio in the NSIC behind Minnesota State. 

MILESTONES
Gamble surpassed 500 career points after scoring 13 this past weekend. She now has 504 points in her career as a Golden Bear. 

Wilson surpassed 200 career rebounds after grabbing seven this past weekend. She sits at 206 total in her career while grabbing 56 this season. She also tallied her 50th career steal against Minnesota Crookston. 

Mikayla Kanenwisher also collected her 50th steal as a Golden Bear. She has 25 this season to total 54 with CSP. 

RECORD WATCH
Becher enters this weekend at 1,293 career points. She is 14 points away from becoming a top 15 scorer in program history. Rhonda Hintz from 1980-83 is in 14th with 1,307 career points. Becher currently sits as the 17th-highest scorer in program history. 

IN THE NSIC STANDINGS
Minnesota State remains unbeaten in conference play at 13-0 to top the NSIC. Concordia-St. Paul and Southwest Minnesota State each are tied for second place at 10-2. Northern State (S.D.) has sole possession of fourth place two games behind at 8-4. 

St. Cloud State is in fifth place with a 7-5 conference record. UMary, Wayne State (Neb.) and Sioux Falls (S.D.) are each tied for sixth with a 6-6 record. Minnesota Duluth and MSU Moorhead are tied for ninth at 5-7.

MINOT STATE SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: CSP 10, MiSU 3

The Golden Bears have faced Minot State 13 times since 2013 and have a 10-3 record against the Beavers. CSP has won three straight and would tie its longest winning streak with a win on Friday. The Golden Bears won the first four matchups in the series.

Minot State picked up wins against Concordia in 2016, 2018 and 2022. All of those games were in Minot, North Dakota. The Golden Bears are 3-3 all-time on the road vs. the Beavers. 

LAST MEETING WITH THE BEAVERS
The Golden Bears went 2-0 last season vs. Minot State with a 58-39 win on Jan. 5, 2024, and a 55-41 win on Feb. 17, 2024. In the first matchup in the Gangelhoff Center, the Golden Bears held Minot State to 17 points which included the Beavers not making a field goal for 10:37.

Becher led the Golden Bears with 16 points in the game and 12 rebounds. She shot 8-16 (50%) from the field. Ally Gietzel added 10 points, Kanenwisher scored seven points and Mommsen added seven points of her own. Kanenwisher had a key 3-pointer in the third quarter to help CSP pull away and control the game. 

Minot State was led by Sydney Gustavsson with eight points, two steals and four rebounds. Maya Aguilar added seven points. Lorelei McIver led the team in rebounds with nine and in blocks with four while scoring four points. 

Concordia-St. Paul once again played stout defense to hold Minot State to 18-60 (30%) from the field in the second matchup of the season. CSP held the Beavers scoreless for 4:39 in the fourth quarter before Minot State made one last field goal with seven seconds left. The Beavers went 0-10 from behind the arc. 

Becher almost tallied another double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds. Lauren Feddema added 10 points and four rebounds off the bench. Wilson and Gamble each scored eight points with Gamble grabbing a season-high 10 rebounds. 

Gustavsson, Aguilar and Jamie Skeggs each led Minot State with eight points. Gustavsson grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Vilborg Jonsdottir dished out five assists.

ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Minot State enters this game after picking up a 69-55 win over Augustana on Saturday. The Beavers went 12-26 (46.2%) from behind the arc in the victory with Gustavsson scoring 18 points. 

Aguilar leads the Beavers in points per game averaging 11.2 during her sophomore season. She's also tied for the team lead in steals averaging 1.2 per game. Senior guard Emma Mogen is averaging 10.9 points per game and a team-high 2.5 assists per game. 

Gustavsson is averaging 9.9 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game as a senior. Freshman Jessica Mogen is averaging 6.1 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game. Skeggs is averaging 5.1 points per game. 

Freshman Lara Dobbins averages 10.1 points per game as a freshman. The Australia native has not played in a game since Dec. 6, 2024. McIver is also averaging 6.5 points per game, but she has not competed since Nov. 26, 2024. 

The Beavers are 12th in both scoring offense and scoring defense in the NSIC. They are scoring 61.9 points per game while giving up 72.6 points per game. That -10.7 points per game margin ranks 14th in the NSIC. 

Head coach Ryan Clark is in his first season coaching the Beavers after serving as an assistant coach in the program from 2019-21. He was previously the head coach at Lake Region State College in Devil's Lake, North Dakota where he led that team to back-to-back 20-12 seasons. 

UMARY SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: CSP 16, UMARY 8

The Golden Bears are 7-3 in their last 10 matchups vs. the Marauders. Concordia was on a three-game winning streak vs. UMary entering last season before losing the first matchup on Jan. 6, 2024. 

CSP's longest winning streak in the series is five games and the Golden Bears have never lost more than two in a row vs. UMary. CSP is 6-5 all-time on the road vs. the Marauders winning the latest matchup in Bismarck, North Dakota last season. 

LAST MEETING WITH THE MARAUDERS
CSP went 1-1 last season against UMary, which was led by NSIC Offensive Player of the Year Lexie Schneider. The Golden Bears lost the first matchup 60-57 on Jan. 6, 2024, in the Gangelhoff Center before picking up a key win in Bismarck on Feb. 16, 2024, by a score of 53-46. 

Gietzel scored 27 points in the first matchup with the Marauders, but she came up short in the final seconds with two chances to tie the game. After UMary trailed by five points with 4:32 left, the Marauders went on a 7-1 run to take a one-point lead. After a Wilson layup, Addison Rozell hit the go-ahead 3-pointer for the Marauders with 1:03 left. 

Gietzel also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in the contest with three steals and two blocks. Wilson scored 12 points off the bench. Gamble scored eight points with four rebounds, three steals and two blocks. 

Schneider led UMary with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Megan Zander scored 17 points. Rozell added nine points with six rebounds. 

The Golden Bears caused a season-high 26 turnovers and held the Marauders to 16-47 (34%) in the second matchup to pick up the 53-46 win. After only scoring 18 points in the first half, CSP almost doubled that production in the third quarter with 16 points. CSP trailed 19-18 at halftime, but led 34-30 after the third quarter. 

Concordia scored five quick points in the fourth quarter after two Marauder turnovers. UMary battled back to get the lead down to one point with 3:49 left. CSP made three free throws and Wilson made a layup to stop that run and lead 45-40. The Golden Bears went 6-6 down the stretch from the charity stripe to seal the win.

Wilson led CSP with 14 points and six rebounds. Becher added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists. Dengerud scored nine points with a team-high four assists. Gietzel and Feddema each scored seven points.

Schneider and Zander each scored 16 points with Zander dishing out five assists and stealing the ball five times. Schneider grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. Ryleigh Wacha added 10 points while blocking three shots. 

ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
UMary went 0-2 this past weekend with a 79-72 loss to Sioux Falls and a 77-68 loss to Southwest Minnesota State. UMary's Moriku Hakim scored a career-high 23 points off the bench in the loss to the Mustangs. 

Sophomore Bergan Kinnebrew is leading the Marauders this season averaging 13.9 points per game. She's also dishing out 2.1 assists per game. Wacha is averaging 8.6 points per game, 2.3 assists per game and 6.1 rebounds per game as a senior. 

Sophomore Chloe Pfau is averaging 8.9 points per game and 1.4 steals per game. Emily Jaenke is adding eight points per game. Hakim is scoring 7.6 points per game and leads the team in rebounds averaging 6.6 per game. Rozell is back for her senior season averaging 5.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. 

UMary is ninth in scoring offense in the NSIC averaging 66.3 points per game. The Marauders are second in the NSIC in scoring defense allowing 63.4 points per game. They have a +2.9 margin, which ranks sixth in the conference. 

On average, UMary holds opponents to 38.7% from the field which is the third-best in the conference. They are sixth in rebounding averaging 39.9 per game. The Marauders are fifth in blocks averaging 3.69 per game and fourth in steals averaging 8.38 per game. 

UMary is led by head coach Rick Neumann in his 13th year coaching the Marauders. The team's 22-11 record last season matched his best at UMary. Neumann has a 192-164 career record entering this weekend.