ST. PAUL, Minn. - Junior guard Leah Dengerud scored a career-high 27 points in No. 19 Concordia-St. Paul's (19-2, 13-2 NSIC) 64-56 victory vs. No. 14 Minnesota State (17-4, 13-2 NSIC). Concordia-St. Paul, No. 22 Southwest Minnesota State (19-2, 13-2 NSIC) and Minnesota State are all tied for first in the NSIC following the Golden Bear victory. 

Dengerud shot 9-14 (64.3%) from the field including a career-high 6-10 (60%) from behind the arc. She broke her previous career-high of 18 points earlier this season against Southwest Minnesota State on Dec. 7, 2024. She also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds in the contest. 

Julia Bengtson added 18 points shooting 8-14 (57.1%) and 2-3 (66.7%) from behind the arc. She also tied her career-high with a team-high six steals. Both Dengerud and Bengtson each added three assists as well. Bengtson was also a team-high +12 on the court. 

Dengerud scored 11 of CSP's 20 points in the opening quarter shooting 4-5 (80%) from the field and 3-4 (75%) from behind the arc. She also scored eight of CSP's first 15 points. The Golden Bears led by a slim 20-19 margin after the opening period. 

Trailing 23-22 in the second quarter, Dengerud hit another 3-pointer to give CSP the lead. This sparked a 15-2 run that featured eight points from Dengerud, five points from Bengtson and a layup by Ashley Schuelke. Concordia led 37-28 at halftime. 

At halftime, Dengerud had 19 points shooting 7-9 (77.8%) from the field and 5-7 (71.4%) from behind the arc. The rest of the team was 7-25 (28%) from the field and 1-7 (14.2%) from behind the arc. 

The Golden Bears opened the second half on a 9-2 run to take a 46-30 lead, marking their largest of the game. Concordia maintained a double-digit lead of 54-44 after three quarters with Dengerud scoring seven points in the period. 

Both teams shot a combined 6-24 (25%) in the final period and combined for 17 turnovers. There were also 17 fouls in the physical final period. CSP was able to hold on to secure the 54-46 victory. 

Minnesota State shot a season-low 20-71 (28.2%) from the field, marking the third straight game the Golden Bears have held a team under 30% shooting from the field. This is the lowest the Mavericks have shot from the field since Feb. 4, 2022, against Southwest Minnesota State (23.2%). 

The 56 points were the lowest for the Mavericks this season and the lowest since last season on Nov. 10, 2023, against Southern Nazarene. Minnesota State also turned the ball over 23 times, tying their second most this season. They shot a season-low 4-16 (25%) from behind the arc. 

Concordia-St. Paul shot 23-56 (41.1%) and 8-23 (34.8%) from behind the arc. Without Bengtson and Dengerud, CSP shot 6-28 (21.4%) from the field, as those two finished 17-28 (60.7%) combined. CSP shot 10-18 (55.6%) from the free-throw line, its second-lowest percentage this season. 

The Golden Bears also turned the ball over 32 times, their most this season after having 25 in the first contest vs. the Mavericks. This is the most since last season when CSP played the Mavericks and turned the ball over 35 times. The Golden Bears have 92 turnovers in the last three matchups with MSU. 

Lindsey Becher led the team in rebounds with 13 and in blocks with five, tying her season-high. She scored four points shooting 2-3 (66.7%) from the field. Schuelke grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds while scoring four points. She also stole the ball a career-high three times. 

Emma Mommsen scored five points while grabbing four rebounds. Lydia Haack added four points, all from the free-throw line in the final quarter. She also tallied three assists. Megan Gamble recorded a team-high five assists, five rebounds, two blocks and two points. 

Minnesota State was led by Destinee Bursch with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Ava Stier added 11 points shooting 5-6 (83.3%) from the field. Adeline Kent added nine points. 

Natalie Bremer, the second-highest scorer in the NSIC, finished with eight points. This marked a season-low for the junior who came into the game averaging 20.5 points per game. She shot 4-15 (26.7%) from the field. 

CSP outrebounded MSU 49-40. Minnesota State had 23 fouls while Concordia had 17 fouls. MSU outscored CSP in the paint 26-24. The Golden Bears outscored Minnesota State 17-0 on fast breaks and 14-8 on second-chance points. 

With the men's 93-71 victory, this is only the second time Concordia-St. Paul has won both games of the doubleheader vs. Minnesota State in school history. The first time was on Dec. 9, 2011, in Mankato when the women won, 83-67, and the men won, 85-76. This is the first time the Golden Bears have won both games against the Mavericks at home.

Concordia-St. Paul remains undefeated at home this season at 11-0. This ties the 2018-19 team for the second-best home winning streak to start a season at 11 games. The 2004-05 team was undefeated at home finishing 14-0. The Golden Bears have won 12 straight home games dating back to last season, tying the fourth-longest home winning streak in school history.

The Golden Bears are back in action on the road vs. Minnesota Duluth (7-13, 5-10 NSIC) on Saturday. The Bulldogs lost 57-53 to Winona State (9-12, 5-10 NSIC) on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Romano Gymnasium.