ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia's women's basketball team heads out on the beaten path for conference games against Bemidji State (11-9, 5-8 NSIC) and Minnesota Duluth (13-7, 8-5 NSIC) this weekend. Tied for first place in the NSIC standings, this weekend's results will help determine the future of the Golden Bears in the NSIC Tournament, which is coming up just around the corner! Concordia is ranked #23 in the nation with a 16-4 overall record. They are matched with Augustana College for the league lead at 10-3. WEEKLY RELEASE - LIVE STATS - WATCH LIVE
Although the Golden Bears have a better league record than both of this weekend's opponents and marked a +19.5 scoring margin against the Beavers and Bulldogs in games played Jan. 8-9, Concordia knows that nothing can be taken for granted this season. It has been proven time and again that there are no guaranteed wins in NSIC play this season, even for the NSIC-leading Golden Bears.
Concordia leads the NSIC with the highest scoring offense this season at 81.1 ppg and also has the best field goal average among league teams with a mark of 46.6%. The squad has emerged as a top three-point shooting team, now averaging 7.40 triples per contest. In a win over Augustana College last weekend, the Golden Bears hit a season high 14 three-pointers.
The Golden Bears face a very young Bemidji State squad on Friday evening. A good offensive team, the Beavers have weaknesses on defense that the Golden Bears will look to exploit with their high-powered offense. Bemidji State will pop off three-point shots, but Concordia will look to force BSU turnovers to limit their possessions. The last time the teams met, Concordia had a huge second half in which they outscored Bemidji 45-25 with help from all around the court. Gillian Bjerke had a 15-point, 11-rebound double double for CU, one of five players to finish with 10 or more points. CU scored 30 points off of Bemidji State turnovers. Guard Shannon Thompson had a 19-point performance to lead her BSU squad.
A rough 0-2 weekend last week for Minnesota Duluth dropped them a few spots in the NSIC standings and disrupted a previous 6-1 NSIC run with the only other loss being against Concordia. When they met just a few weeks ago, Concordia put up an 84-68 win, making up for a relatively poor shooting game with a 54-39 rebound advantage. CU again had powerful scoring from a multitude of players, a trend that has tailed off to some extent but will hopefully return down the stretch. The Bulldogs are also a sturdy defensive squad that likes to block shots and pick off passes for turnovers. They are highlighted by the league's top scorer, Jheri Booker (21.0 ppg). Booker has led UMD in scoring in all but two games this season.
The Golden Bear offense is currently led by guard Maurika Hickman with 13.5 ppg. Zoraa Quoie has also had a number of breakout performances in the past few weeks, coming off the bench to not only score points, but take away a good share of steals and also feed her teammates for buckets. Defensively, Concordia has done well getting hands in opposing shooters' faces and will put on-ball pressure on ball handlers. The squad aims to put back-to-back wins together after splitting wins the past three weeks.
