WAYNE, Neb. - The No. 14 Golden Bear women's basketball team (22-2, 16-2 NSIC) picked up their ninth straight victory over Wayne State (10-12, 7-11 NSIC) on Saturday evening. Lydia Haack scored 20 points, Julia Bengtson tallied 15 points and Lindsey Becher added 13 points in the 69-58 victory.

Concordia-St. Paul never trailed in the game. The Golden Bears got an early 8-2 lead with Becher scoring six of the points shooting 3-3 from the field. After Wayne State cut the lead to two points, Concordia answered with another 8-2 run capped off by a buzzer-beater by Mikayla Kanenwisher. 

CSP's second quarter was highlighted by Bengtson, wearing a new jersey in No. 20. The senior tallied nine points in the quarter, including a 7-0 to give the Golden Bears a 34-26 lead. Lauren Wilson hit a late 3-pointer to give Concordia a 37-27 halftime advantage. CSP shot 15-26 (57.7%) from the field in the first half. 

The Golden Bears maintained the advantage early in the third quarter, taking a 50-36 lead for their largest of the game. The Wildcats didn't go away, amassing a 13-3 run between the third and fourth quarters to cut the lead to four points with 8:36 to go. 

Concordia responded with a 7-0 run with six of the points scored by Haack to take a 60-49 lead. Bengtson added a left-handed layup and Leah Dengerud stole the ball in the backcourt for a layup to take a 64-41 lead with 3:12 to go, effectively icing the game. 

Haack grabbed a team-high six rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists to go with her 20 points. She added two steals and was 7-9 (77.8%) from the free-throw line. This is Haack's third straight game with 20 or more points and she's hit the mark in four of the last five games. 

Bengtson added with three assists, two rebounds and a steal to her totals. The senior played a team-high 36:37 in the contest. This is her ninth game this season scoring in double digits. 

Becher blocked a team-high four shots, playing all 20 minutes of the second half after suffering an injury in the first half. She grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and stole the ball twice.

Dengerud added eight points making a team-high two 3-pointers. She also grabbed five rebounds and had a steal. Wilson scored seven points with two rebounds and a steal. Kanenwisher added five points and three assists. 

Wayne State was led by Maya Fitzpatrick with 21 points and four assists. Meg Reitz scored nine points and Delaney Clark finished with eight points. Tate Norblade added six points with a team-high six assists. 

Concordia shot 25-52 (48.1%) from the field, 6-14 (42.9%) from behind the arc and 13-17 (76.5%) from the free-throw line. Wayne State shot 24-58 (41.4%) from the field, 7-24 (29.2%) from behind the arc and 3-7 (42.9%) from the free-throw line. 

The Golden Bears outrebounded the Wildcats 37-30 and had a slight 30-28 scoring advantage in the paint. Both teams scored 12 points off of turnovers and each bench scored 13 points. CSP outscored Wayne State 11-9 on fast breaks and 8-4 on second-chance points. 

This is Concordia's second nine-game winning streak this season, tying for the 12th longest in program history. 22 wins surpassed 2018-19's total for the most wins in a season in head coach Amanda Johnson's career. It also marks the most wins for a CSP team since 2013-14. 

No. 21 Minnesota State (19-5, 15-3 NSIC) fell 89-76 to Sioux Falls (S.D.) (14-11, 10-8 NSIC) on Saturday evening, breaking the three-way tie in first place. Concordia-St. Paul and No. 19 Southwest Minnesota State (22-2, 16-2 NSIC) remain tied for the conference lead with four games to play. 

With the two wins this weekend, Concordia has clinched a first-round bye in the NSIC Tournament. CSP will start the 12-team conference tournament at the Sanford Pentagon that takes place from March 1-4. 

The Golden Bears will be tested once again this upcoming weekend on Friday, Feb. 14 against Northern State (S.D.) (15-9, 12-6 NSIC) at 7:30 p.m. in the Gangelhoff Center. CSP lost to NSU earlier this season, 66-60. Concordia will then host MSU Moorhead (12-12, 10-8 NSIC) for Senior Day at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 15.