CROOKSTON, Minn. - The No. 11 Concordia-St.-Paul women's basketball team (26-2, 20-2 NSIC) clinched the 2024-25 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Regular Season Championship with an 87-60 win over Minnesota Crookston (9-19, 7-15 NSIC). This is the seventh NSIC Regular Season Championship in program history and the sixth excluding divisional championships. 

CSP's 26-2 regular season record marks the most wins in program history. The 20-2 record ties for the second-lowest loss total in a season in NSIC play behind 2003-04's 15-1 record. This is the first time the Golden Bears have won 20 games in a season in NSIC play.

Senior center Lindsey Becher scored a season-high 24 points in the victory. She shot 7-13 (53.8%) from the field and 10-12 (83.3%) from the free-throw line. Becher added five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals to her totals. 

Julia Bengtson scored 13 points shooting 6-6 (100%) from the free-throw line. Lydia Haack added 12 points with four assists and two steals. Ashley Schuelke and Megan Gamble each had 11 points. 

The Golden Bears forced 20 Minnesota Crookston turnovers. This is the eighth time CSP has forced 20 or more turnovers this season. This marked the third-most turnovers for UMC in a game this season. 

Concordia started the game strong outscoring the Golden Eagles 12-2 early, off of four Crookston turnovers. The Golden Eagles responded with an 11-0 run, tying the game at 15-15. After that, CSP settled down and finished the quarter on a 6-0 run which was later extended to an 11-0 run in the second quarter. 

Becher exploded in the second period of play, scoring 13 points. After the Golden Bears took a 32-18 lead, Becher scored on five consecutive possessions to extend the lead to 43-23. Concordia led 47-26 at the half. 

CSP shot 8-16 (50%) in the third quarter to keep up with Minnesota Crookston's high-scoring effort. The Golden Bears led 69-51 after the third period, despite UMC almost matching its first-half total. Concordia-St. Paul settled down defensively in the final quarter, outscoring the Golden Eagles 18-9. 

Gamble added four rebounds, two assists and two steals to her totals. She was 2-3 (66.7%) from behind the arc. Schuelke also had two assists and two steals. She and Haack were both 5-9 (55.5%) from the field. 

Mikayla Kanenwisher scored five points with an assist and a steal. Lauren Wilson added three points and grabbed four rebounds. Emma Mommsen tallied two points with four rebounds and a career-high five assists. Leah Dengerud, Raegan Alexander and Ella Campbell each scored a bucket. 

Emma Miller led Minnesota Crookston with 17 points as she broke the NSIC single-season scoring record in conference play. CSP forced Miller to turn the ball over six times. Nicole Hernandez had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Golden Bears finished 28-60 (46.7%) from the field while Minnesota Crookston was 21-53 (39.6%). Concordia cashed in at the free-throw line, going 25-29 (86.2%) for a season-high in free-throws made.

CSP outscored UMC 40-26 in the paint and 23-8 off turnovers. The Golden Bears had 10 fewer turnovers than the Golden Eagles. Concordia had 13 steals while UMC only had six. 

No. 17 Southwest Minnesota State (25-3, 19-3 NSIC) fell to Northern State (S.D.) (18-10, 15-7 NSIC) on Saturday, 78-75. This loss gave the Golden Bears sole possession of the NSIC Regular Season Championship and clinched the No. 1 seed in the NSIC Tournament. 

This is the first NSIC Regular Season Championship for the Golden Bears since 2018-19 when the team won the South Division. The Golden Bears last won the overall NSIC Regular Season Championship in 2012-13. 

CSP's 13-game win streak is the longest current winning streak in the conference. This ties 2010-11's winning streak for the fifth-best in program history. 

The No. 1 seeded Golden Bears will start play in the NSIC Tournament on Saturday, March 1 at 11 a.m. in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. CSP will play the first-round winner of Minot State (N.D.) (10-19, 9-13 NSIC) and St. Cloud State (14-13, 11-11 NSIC). The Golden Bears have won the tournament four times in program history, with the last time in 2014.