ST. PAUL, Minn. - The No. 11 and NSIC Regular Season Champion Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (26-2, 20-2 NSIC) is in action this weekend at the NSIC Tournament. The Golden Bears start the tournament on Saturday, March 1 at 11 a.m. against St. Cloud State (15-13, 11-11 NSIC) in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. 

CSP's potential semifinal game is scheduled for Monday, March 3 at 11 a.m. and the NSIC Championship is on Tuesday, March 4 at 4 p.m. Concordia's last NSIC Tournament Championship was in 2014 and the team has won it four times. 

KSTP
The Golden Bears were interviewed by KSTP's Darren Wolfson after the NSIC Regular Season Championship. The interview featured head coach Amanda Johnson along with senior center Lindsey Becher and junior guard Lydia Haack. Watch the interview here.

ALL-NSIC SELECTIONS
Three Golden Bears earned All-NSIC accolades, led by Johnson winning NSIC Coach of the Year. Becher earned Defensive Player of the Year and All-NSIC First Team. Haack was tabbed All-NSIC First Team. Read more about it here. 

WBCA RANKINGS
Concordia-St. Paul remained at No. 11 in this week's WBCA Poll. CSP received 338 points in the poll, which was 25 more than the week before. 

After their losses on Saturday, Southwest Minnesota State (25-3, 19-3 NSIC) fell to No. 19, and Minnesota State (22-6, 18-4 NSIC) fell from No. 25 to out of the rankings. The Mavericks were one of two teams to drop out of the poll. 

In the region, Fort Hays State (24-2, 15-2 MIAA) jumped up one spot to No. 6 after defeating Pittsburg State (24-3, 16-1 MIAA) who dropped to No. 10 after the loss. The Gorillas fell from No. 5 to No. 10. 

CENTRAL REGION RANKINGS
Concordia-St. Paul was ranked No. 2 in the second NCAA Central Region Rankings. CSP was behind top-seeded Pittsburg State and ahead of No. 3 Fort Hays State. Concordia was the highest-ranked team in the NSIC. Read more about it here. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears picked up a 70-39 win over Bemidji State (6-20, 4-18 NSIC) and an 87-60 win over Minnesota Crookston (9-19, 7-15 NSIC) this past weekend to capture the NSIC Regular Season Championship. 

CSP trailed 12-5 to the Beavers to start that game. The team regrouped after a timeout and went on a 13-0 run to end the opening quarter. The Golden Bears then went on a 20-2 run in the second quarter to lead 38-19 at halftime. After a slow third quarter, CSP outscored BSU 23-9 in the final period with nine different players scoring. 

Becher led the Golden Bears with 15 points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Sophomore guard Ashley Schuelke added 12 points making four 3-pointers. Haack scored nine points with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. 

After being tied 15-15 to Minnesota Crookston in the first quarter, CSP went on an 11-0 run. The Golden Bears then outscored the Golden Eagles 26-11 in the second quarter, led by Becher scoring on five straight possessions. CSP forced 20 turnovers, marking the eighth game this season the Golden Bears have forced 20 or more turnovers. 

Becher scored a season-high 24 points shooting 7-13 (53.8%) from the field and 10-12 (83.3%) from the free-throw line. Julia Bengtson added 13 points shooting 6-6 (100%) from the free-throw line. Haack had 12 points, Schuelke had 11 points and Megan Gamble tied her season-high with 11 points. 

Southwest Minnesota State fell to Northern State (S.D.) (18-10, 15-7 NSIC) 78-75 on Saturday, giving the Golden Bears sole possession of the NSIC Regular Season Championship. This marked the seventh NSIC Regular Season Championship in program history and sixth excluding division championships.  

SEASON LEADERS
Haack leads the Golden Bears averaging 16.7 points, five rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game. She ranks seventh in the NSIC in scoring and second in assists. Haack's 2.0 assist/turnover ratio is also second in the NSIC. 

Haack ranks 31st in the nation in assists per game and 22nd in total assists. Her assist/turnover ratio is 23rd in the nation. She's 64th in the nation in points per game. 

Becher is averaging 12.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. She's 17th in the NSIC in scoring and fifth in rebounding. She leads the conference in blocks per game and ranks fourth in the nation. 

Leah Dengerud is averaging 9.6 points per game, 2.1 assists per game and is shooting 40.6% from behind the arc. Bengtson is averaging 9.3 points per game shooting 44.4% from the field. 

Schuelke is scoring 7.6 points per game and Lauren Wilson is scoring 5.4 points per game. Gamble is adding 5.2 points per game and grabbing 7.2 rebounds per game, which is T-6th in the NSIC. Mikayla Kanenwisher is averaging 4.5 points per game and Emma Mommsen is averaging 4.1 points per game. 

As a team, the Golden Bears are leading the NSIC defensively giving up 59 points per game. CSP is scoring 75 points per game, which is third in the conference. That 16-point margin ranks third in the conference. 

In NSIC play only, the Golden Bears gave up 57.5 points per game and scored 75.2 points per game. CSP led the league defensively by seven points. Their 17.7 margin was second in the NSIC behind Minnesota State's 17.9 margin. 

Concordia has held opponents to 36.2% from the field, leading the NSIC by 2.3%. The Golden Bears are shooting 43.3%, which is tied for fourth in the conference. CSP is shooting 34.7% from behind the arc and 76.4% from the free-throw line. 

CSP is third in the NSIC in rebounding, averaging 40.5 per game. The team's 3.93 turnover margin and 1.21 assist/turnover ratio both rank second in the conference. The Golden Bears average 10.46 steals per game, which is second in the NSIC. Concordia is averaging 5.57 blocks per game, leading the conference by 1.03 blocks. 

MILESTONES
Becher surpassed 1,400 career points, now with 1,423 in her career. Haack's dished out 400 career assists with 402 total. Bengtson has scored 600 career points with 613 total. 

Gamble surpassed 200 rebounds this season with 201 total. Wilson has totaled 500 career points with 505. Mommsen grabbed her 101st rebound of the season this past weekend. 

RECORD WATCH
The Golden Bears broke the program record for wins in a regular season with a 26-2 record. CSP's 14-0 home record tied for the best in program history. The current 13-game winning streak is tied for fifth in program history. 

Becher's 1,423 points are tied for ninth in a career in program history. She's tied head coach Amanda Johnson's career point total. With six points, Becher will move into seventh in program history. 46 more points will put Becher into fourth in program history. 

Becher is seventh all-time in career rebounds with 698, 28 behind Coach Johnson in fifth. She's fifth in career field goals made with 578. Becher's 111 starts are fifth in school history, and she's five away from the top three. She's 17th in games played with 112 and 20th in scoring average at 12.7 points per game. 

Dengerud's 40.6% 3-point percentage ranks 13th in program history. Her 54 3-pointers this season are tied for 19th. 

Gamble is 17th in career offensive rebounds with 171 and in blocked shots with 60. Her 2.8 offensive rebounds per game average this season also ranks 17th. 

Haack's 83% free-throw percentage ranks ninth in a season in program history. Her 4.6 assists is 19th and her 467 total points are 20th. 

As a team, CSP's 75 ppg scoring average ranks seventh in a season. The Golden Bears' scoring defense average is third in a season in program history. The team's 43.3% field goal percentage is tied for 7th. The team's 34.7% 3-point percentage is 10th. 

Concordia-St. Paul's 76.4% free-throw percentage is currently the best mark in program history. CSP's 16.4 assists per game ranks third in a season in program history. The Golden Bears have blocked 156 shots this season, also ranking third. 

NSIC TOURNAMENT AT A GLANCE
All four higher seeds won Wednesday night's first-round games in the 12-team NSIC Tournament. No. 8 St. Cloud State defeated No. 9 Minot State 64-53 to play the Golden Bears on Saturday. 

No. 5 Sioux Falls picked up an 81-69 victory vs No. 12 Minnesota Crookston. The Cougars will face Northern State at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The Wolves won both matchups vs. Sioux Falls this season, including a 75-72 win this past weekend. 

No. 6 UMary defeated No. 11 Minnesota Duluth, 64-43. The Marauders will face No. 3 Minnesota State at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Minnesota State was 2-0 this season vs. UMary, including a 91-75 win on Feb. 15. 

No. 7 MSU Moorhead won over No. 10 Wayne State, 57-50. The Dragons play No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MSUM and SMSU met once this season with the Mustangs winning 93-70. 

ST. CLOUD STATE SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: SCSU 21, CSP 20

The Golden Bears go for the series equalizer this weekend after winning three straight games against the Huskies. A win on Saturday would tie CSP's longest win streak in the series. The Golden Bears are 5-5 in the last 10 matchups vs. SCSU. 

CSP is 2-7 all-time in neutral site games against St. Cloud State and 2-3 all-time against the Huskies in the NSIC Tournament. 

LAST MEETING WITH THE HUSKIES
The Golden Bears played St. Cloud State once this season winning 72-55 in the Gangelhoff Center on Jan. 8. Bengtson led the team with 23 points and a career-high six steals. 

The Golden Bears trailed 27-26 in the second quarter before finishing the half on an 11-2 run. Bengtson scored the last four points, including a buzzer-beating putback to lead 37-29.

CSP scored nine points off of turnovers in the final quarter to help seal the win. The Golden Bears shot 6-13 (46.2%) on 3-pointers and 28-61 (45.9%) from the field. Concordia-St. Paul stole the ball a season-high 16 times in the win. 

Haack scored 19 points with eight assists, three steals and a career-high three blocks. Dengerud finished with 14 points shooting 4-5 (80%) from behind the arc. Becher broke the all-time career blocks record in the game. 

Alana Zarneke led St. Cloud State with 14 points. Kylan Gerads and Rachel Kottke each scored nine points. Jada Eggebrecht and Paige Lambe added seven points each. 

ABOUT THE HUSKIES
St. Cloud State has won five of its last six games with the only loss coming to Minnesota State, 96-61. Before this past stretch, the Huskies lost six straight games. 

Eggebrecht leads the Huskies averaging 13.3 points per game. She earned a Second Team All-NSIC selection. Eggebrecht is t-12th in points in the NSIC and is shooting 94.5% from the free-throw line this season. 

Zarneke also earned a Second-Team All-NSIC selection averaging 11.2 points per game. She's adding a team-high 2.4 assists per game, tying for 17th in the conference. Sophomore Abigail O'Reilly is adding 10.4 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. 

Gerads is scoring 8.1 points per game and Lambe is scoring 8.0 points per game. The Huskies lost junior forward Ashley Sawicki to injury earlier in the season. She averaged 10.9 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game last season. 

The Huskies are averaging 66.7 points per game as a team, ranking eighth in the NSIC. St. Cloud State has the fifth-best defensive average in the conference at 66.6 points per game. That 0.1 scoring margin ranks seventh.

St. Cloud State ranks fourth in the NSIC in 3-point percentage, shooting 33.5%. The Huskies give up 33.8 rebounds per game, which is the best in the NSIC. SCSU is fifth in steals averaging 7.96 a game. 

Head coach Lori Fish is in her 17th season at the helm for the Huskies. Fish has led her teams to four 20-win seasons, three conference championships, five NCAA tournament appearances and one NCAA Sweet 16 in her career. She has a 339-239 record as a head coach and a 287-186 record at St. Cloud State.