BISMARCK, N.D. - The No. 22 Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (18-2, 12-2 NSIC) outscored UMary (10-8, 7-7 NSIC) 38-20 in the second half to pick up a 73-48 victory. The Golden Bears held the Marauders to 14-59 (23.7%) from the field, the lowest field goal percentage CSP has allowed this season.
Junior guard Lydia Haack led the Golden Bears with 21 points, three assists and three steals. This is Haack's fifth 20+ point game this season and her first since Dec. 13, 2024, against Wayne State. She shot 8-16 (50%) from the field, 1-2 (50%) from behind the arc and 4-5 (80%) from the free-throw line.
After leading 35-28 at halftime, CSP started the second half with a bang. Lindsey Becher hit an and-1 layup which was followed by a 3-pointer by Megan Gamble. It was a team effort with multiple different scorers to achieve a 17-2 run in the opening 8:07 of the second half.
Concordia ended up outscoring UMary 19-5 in the third quarter, holding the Marauders to 2-16 (12.5%) from the field. The Golden Bears shot 6-15 (40%) from the field in the quarter and made the most of their opportunities at the free-throw line shooting 6-7 (85.7%).
The Golden Bears had nine different players score in the final quarter to maintain the lead. CSP made four more shots than the Marauders and Mikayla Kanenwisher dished out four assists in the final period.
The 17-2 third-quarter run was needed after how CSP ended the first half. The Golden Bears were up 34-18 before a 10-0 Marauder run cut it to down to six points. Concordia was held scoreless for 6:12 in the second quarter before Haack hit a free-throw with 37 seconds left in the half.
The Golden Bears used a hot start and drove to the hoop efficiently to get an early 11-3 lead in the game. During that run, CSP shot 5-10 (50%) while UMary shot 1-7 (14.3%). UMary used back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the lead to 12-10. The Golden Bears then went on an 11-0 run and led 26-15 after the opening period of play.
Gamble recorded an immaculate stat line that was just short of a double-double. She scored nine points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. She added a team-high five assists, tying her career high. The senior also blocked a shot and stole the ball twice.
Ashley Schuelke finished with 12 points shooting 4-6 from behind the arc. Becher added eight points, seven rebounds, four blocks and two assists. Julia Bengtson scored eight points and blocked a career-high two shots.
Leah Dengerud tallied four points, four rebounds and a steal. Kanenwisher made a basket to go along with her four assists. Lauren Wilson finished an and-1 layup late in the game and drained the free throw to score three points. Emma Mommsen scored two points with two assists and Ella Campbell made a free-throw.
Concordia-St. Paul finished 27-64 (42.2%) from the field and 7-19 (36.8%) from behind the arc. The Golden Bears outscored the Marauders 38-16 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 46-38. CSP held the lead for 39:10 in the contest.
UMary was led by Bergan Kinnebrew with nine points. Anna Lenzen scored seven points while grabbing six rebounds. Chloe Pfau finished with seven points, three assists and three steals.
The Golden Bears remain tied with No. 23 Southwest Minnesota State (18-2, 12-2 NSIC) in second place in the NSIC standings. The Mustangs defeated St. Cloud State (10-9, 7-7 NSIC) 73-57 on Saturday.
CSP hosts No. 6 Minnesota State (17-3, 13-1 NSIC) in the Gangelhoff Center on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. The Mavericks were upset by Northern State (13-7, 10-4 NSIC) on Friday night. With Golden Bear and Mustang wins, Concordia, Minnesota State and Southwest Minnesota State will be tied for the top spot in the conference.
