ST. PAUL, Minn. - The No. 14 Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (20-2, 14-2 NSIC) takes its seven-game winning streak into games with Sioux Falls (S.D.) (13-10, 9-7 NSIC) and Wayne State (Neb.) (10-10, 7-9 NSIC). 

The Golden Bears are undefeated at home this season. They will test that 11-0 record in the Gangelhoff Center against Sioux Falls on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. CSP will then have a day off before traveling to Wayne, Nebraska on Saturday, Feb. 8 to face the Wildcats at 5:30 p.m. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears picked up two wins this past weekend, including the team's first-ranked win against No. 14 Minnesota State (18-4, 14-2 NSIC), 64-56. Concordia held Minnesota State to 20-71 (28.2%) from the field, a season-low for the Mavericks. 

Leah Dengerud led the way with a career-high 27 points shooting 9-14 (64.3%) from the field and 6-10 (60%) from behind the arc. She also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds. 

Julia Bengtson added 18 points shooting 8-14 (57.1%) from the field and 2-3 (66.7%) from behind the arc. She tied her career-high with six steals too. Dengerud and Bengtson combined for 17-28 (60.7%) from the field while the rest of the team shot 6-28 (21.4%). 

Lydia Haack and Lindsey Becher combined for 43 points in CSP's 86-61 win against Minnesota Duluth (7-14, 5-11 NSIC) on Saturday. After trailing 19-17 after the first quarter, CSP outscored Duluth 69-42 in the final three quarters. 

Becher tied her season-high with 22 points while grabbing seven rebounds. She also had three assists and three steals. Haack scored 21 points with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Mikayla Kanenwisher added a career-high 14 points making every shot she attempted. 

WBCA RANKINGS
Concordia-St. Paul is now the highest-rated NSIC team following the win vs. Minnesota State this past weekend. The Golden Bears are in a three-way tie for No. 14 in the rankings with Azusa Pacific (Cal.) (18-3) and Lubbock Christian (Tex.) (20-3). Each team received 242 points in the poll. 

Southwest Minnesota State (20-2, 14-2 NSIC) jumped up three spots to No. 19 in the rankings. The Mustangs have won 12 straight games with their last loss to Minnesota State on Dec. 13, 2024. The Mavericks fell seven spots to No. 21 receiving 130 votes. 

In the region, Pittsburg State (Kan.) (19-2) remained at No. 6 and Fort Hays State (Kan.) (18-2) remained at No. 8. Harding (Ark.) (16-4) out of the GAC is no longer receiving votes in the poll after suffering a loss this past weekend.

IN THE NSIC STANDINGS
Concordia-St. Paul, Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State are all tied for first place in the conference standings with a 14-2 record. All three teams can clinch a first-round bye in the NSIC tournament with a pair of wins this weekend. 

Northern State is in fourth place with an 11-5 conference record. UMary and Sioux Falls are tied for sixth place with 9-7 records. MSU Moorhead is in eighth place at 8-8. Wayne State, St. Cloud State and Minot State are tied for ninth with 7-9 records. 

Winona State Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota Crookston are all tied with 5-11 records in 11th place. The top 12 teams in the conference make the tournament. Those three teams are potentially battling for the final two spots. 

SEASON LEADERS
Haack leads the team averaging 15.7 points per game, ranking sixth in the NSIC. She's dishing out 4.7 assists per game, which is the second most in the conference and 27th in the nation. Her 1.6 steals per game is tied for 13th in the NSIC. She also has the second-highest assist/turnover ratio in the NSIC. 

Becher is averaging 12.6 points per game, ranking 15th in the NSIC. The senior is fourth in the NSIC in rebounds, averaging eight per game. She ranks second in the conference and eighth in the nation in blocks per game, averaging 2.6. 

Dengerud is averaging 10.7 points per game, the highest average of her career. She's adding 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Dengerud is shooting 42.2% from the 3-point line, which is the second-highest in the conference and ranks 16th in the nation. 

Bengtson bumped her scoring average up to 9.1 points per game this past weekend. She's tied with Haack in steals averaging 1.6 per game, which is tied for 13th in the NSIC. Megan Gamble is adding 5.3 points per game and grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game. Her rebounding average ranks sixth in the NSIC. 

Ashley Schuelke is scoring 6.7 points per game. Lauren Wilson is adding 5.4 points per game. Kanenwisher is scoring 4.7 points per game while adding 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Emma Mommsen is averaging 4.5 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game. 

As a team, the Golden Bears are averaging 75.3 points per game ranking third in the NSIC. Defensively, CSP is giving up 59 points per game, the best mark in the NSIC by four points. Concordia's 16.3 points per game margin ranks second in the conference and 14th in the nation.

CSP is shooting 43.1% while holding opponents to 35.3% from the field. CSP ranks fourth in the NSIC in field goal percentage and first in the NSIC in opposing field goal percentage. Concordia is shooting 34.8% from behind the arc, which is third in the conference. 

The Golden Bears are averaging 41.8 rebounds, the third-most in the conference. CSP's 3.05 turnover margin and 1.17 assist/turnover ratio are both second in the conference. 

Concordia leads the conference in blocks per game averaging 5.64 and assists per game averaging 16.91. In the nation, CSP is fifth in blocks per game and 13th in assists per game. The Golden Bears are averaging 10.18 steals per game, the second-most in the NSIC. 

MILESTONES
Dengerud surpassed 600 career points after her performances this past weekend. Bengtson scored her 200th point of the season, now totaling 553 in her career. 

RECORD WATCH
The Golden Bears are 11-0 at home this season, which is tied for the second-most wins to start a season in program history. With three home games left, CSP is now chasing 2004-05's perfect 14-0 record at home. 

CSP has now won 12 straight home games, tying the fourth-longest streak in program history. Concordia-St. Paul won 23 straight home games from 2006-08 for the program's longest streak. 

SIOUX FALLS SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: CSP 18, USF 8

The Golden Bears have won the last eight matchups against Sioux Falls, including the most recent game earlier this season. Concordia lost three straight games before the winning streak, tying the Cougars' longest streak in the series. 

CSP won the first six games in the series from 2012-15. The Golden Bears are 9-4 at home and 17-8 in conference play vs. Sioux Falls. 

LAST MEETING WITH THE COUGARS
The Golden Bears picked up a 79-63 win in Sioux Falls, South Dakota earlier this season on Dec. 6, 2024. Bengtson scored a career-high 28 points shooting 9-14 (64.3%) from the field. Becher tallied a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. 

CSP started the game a little slow, but was sparked by a 3-point buzzer-beater by Bengtson to tie the game 15-15 after the opening quarter. The Golden Bears went on a 5-0 run and a 9-0 run to lead 40-33 at halftime. Concordia then started the second half on a 9-0 run and maintained a 16-point lead until the end of the game. 

Haack added 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Schuelke scored eight points and Kanenwisher tallied seven points. Gamble dished out four assists and grabbed four rebounds. 

Sophomore forward Kami Wadsworth led Sioux Falls scoring 19 points and grabbing six rebounds. She went 7-9 (77.8%) from the free-throw line. Megan Fannin had 10 points, Anna Vaaler, scored nine points and Alexis Rose finished with eight points. 

ABOUT THE COUGARS
Sioux Falls was on a three-game winning streak before falling to Southwest Minnesota State by six points on Saturday. Before that, the Cougars picked up wins against St. Cloud State, Bemidji State and Wayne State. Sioux Falls currently is tied with UMary for fifth in the NSIC. 

Wadsworth leads the team averaging 17.5 points per game, which ranks fourth in the conference. She's also adding 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Wadsworth is averaging 23 points in her last four games. 

Rose, a freshman from Becker, Minn., is adding 9.7 points per game, 3.7 rebounds per game and 1.8 assists per game. Senior Aby Phipps is adding 8.9 points and a team-high seven rebounds per game. Phipps is tied for seventh in the conference in rebounds per game. 

Vaaler is adding 8.5 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game. Sophomore Ayla Brown scored 8.1 points per game, Fannin scores 6.8 points per game and Dani Minsaas scores 4.2 points per game. 

Sioux Falls is fifth in the NSIC averaging 72.6 points per game and sixth defensively allowing 66.1 points per game. That 6.5 margin ranks fifth in the conference. 

The Cougars have the best 3-point percentage in the NSIC at 36.8% and the fifth-best shooting percentage at 42.6%. Sioux Falls allows opponents to grab the fewest rebounds against them in the conference. 

Head coach Travis Traphagen is in his 17th season coaching Sioux Falls. He's led the team to two NCAA Central Regional berths and a conference tournament championship in 2016. Traphagen has a 297-183 record with Sioux Falls.  

WAYNE STATE SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: CSP 29, WSU 25

Concordia-St. Paul has won four straight games vs. Wayne State. The Golden Bears are 8-2 in the last 10 games against the Wildcats. Concordia is 12-13 all-time on the road vs. Wayne State. 

CSP owns the longest win streak in the series winning six games from 2003-04. Wayne State's longest win streak was in the first four matchups from 2000-01.

LAST MEETING WITH THE WILDCATS
Haack scored 25 points and Becher scored 22 points in CSP's 75-62 win over Wayne State on Dec. 13, 2024. Becher's 22 points was a season-high until she tied it against Minnesota Duluth this past weekend. She grabbed nine rebounds to finish one short of a double-double

Haack's 25 points are her second-most in a game this season. She shot a perfect 3-3 from behind the arc and 8-8 from the free-throw line. Haack grabbed seven rebounds and tallied six assists. 

The Golden Bears only turned the ball over a season-low six times and CSP outscored Wayne State 26-6 off of turnovers. Kanenwisher added 10 points and Gamble scored six points shooting 3-3 from the field. 

Wayne State was led by senior guard Tate Norblade with 14 points. Delaney Clark added 13 points off the bench. Meg Rietz grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and had a team-high three assists while scoring four points. 

ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Wayne State snapped a three-game losing streak with a 72-68 victory over Augustana (S.D.) on Saturday. One of the Wildcats' best wins was an 87-82 overtime victory vs. Northern State on Jan. 10. 

Senior Maya Fitzpatrick leads Wayne State averaging 13.1 points per game. She leads the team in assists averaging 2.9 per game and in steals averaging two per game. She ranks 12th in the NSIC in assists per game and fifth in steals per game. 

Junior Kylah vanDonkersgoed is averaging 12.4 points per game and a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game. Norblade is adding 10.8 points per game, five rebounds per game and 2.4 assists per game. 

Clark is averaging 8.7 points per game and Carsyn Boswell is averaging 7.3 points per game during their senior seasons. Brooklyn Kruse is scoring 5.6 points per game. Rietz is adding 4.3 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game. 

Wayne State is averaging 66.5 points per game ranking eighth in the NSIC. The Wildcats are allowing 66 points per game which is fifth in the conference. That 0.5 ppg margin is seventh in the conference. 

The Wildcats allow teams to shoot 39.9% from the field, the fourth-best mark in the NSIC. Wayne State shooting 33.8% from behind the arc, which also ranks fourth. Wayne State also averages 4.55 blocked shots per game which is second in the NSIC. 

Head coach Brent Pollari is in his seventh season coaching the Wildcats. He has a career record of 74-97. Pollari is the 11th head coach of the program in school history.