ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia University's women's basketball team makes its seventh straight berth in the postseason as the no. 8 seed in the 2009 NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament. The Golden Bears are matched up with top-seeded and #1 nationally-ranked Minnesota State in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 4 at the Taylor Center at 6:00 pm. Watch the game LIVE at www.northernsun.tv - LIVE STATS - WOMEN'S RELEASE
The Golden Bears powered their way into the postseason by putting together a regular season-ending four-game winning streak and taking decisions in six of their past seven contests. Three of these six wins came over teams currently seeded higher than them in the NSIC Tournament. They go into Wednesday's game with a 19-11 overall record and went 11-9 in the conference schedule.
#1 Minnesota State has won nine straight games since they suffered their only loss of the season, an overtime disappointment against Augustana College. They are 26-1 on the year and became the NSIC regular season champions after going 19-1 through the league schedule.
The Golden Bears have taken great strides in their game over the past month. Their shooting figures have improved, as have their performances on the boards. Most impressive, however, has been the Concordia defense. The team has worked together to limit opponents to 35.5% shooting over the last six wins.
Candace Olstad has scored in double figures in ten of the last 11 games and currently leads Concordia with 13.6 ppg. She has picked up her presence on the glass and is second on the team with 6.1 rebounds per game. Shandrell Duncan and Gillian Bjerke will join Olstad in playing a key role against the Mavericks on Wednesday. In the last meeting between the teams, the trio all finished in double figures for scoring and helped Concordia take a final lead in rebounding, where the team has gone 13-2 this season when pulling down more boards than their opponent. The team's success will also bank on the play of guards Jamie Jones and Zoraa Quoie, who have the ability to be playmakers while running the CU offense.
Minnesota State has the third best shooting average in the NCAA (47.7%) and the seventh highest scoring offense (82.5ppg). All five starters and ten total players on the roster are shooting 40% or better from the field on the year. The first time the Golden Bears met the Mavericks this season, Concordia held Minnesota State to season lows in shooting (38.5%) and scoring (62). If Concordia can repeat this success and combine it with stronger shooting from the field and another good rebounding game, they should stand a good chance at advancing to the NSIC Tournament semifinals.
The Golden Bears will have to watch out for the Mavericks ball pressure. One of Minnesota State's biggest keys to success this season has been forcing opponent turnovers while taking care of the ball on their own end. MSU has committed only 14.1 turnovers, while forcing 21.7 per game. CU reversed the roles in the first meeting, creating 23 MSU turnovers, however the Golden Bears gave up 23 possessions in the second meeting.
