ST. PAUL, Minn. – Despite placing four players in double-digits, the University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team (11-5, 6-4 NSIC) dropped a hard-fought 69-64 decision to Concordia-St. Paul (11-4, 7-3 NSIC) in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action at the Gangelhoff Center.

With the win, the two teams split the season series as the Cougars defeated the Golden Bears, 83-74 in Sioux Falls on Dec. 7. The victory for CSP also moves the Golden Bears into second place in the NSIC South with a 7-4 mark as the Cougars fall to third at 6-4.

USF, which had a three-game winning streak come to an end, was led by junior guard Mariah Szymanski with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Szymanski reached double digits for the 26^th time in her career. Sophomore forward Anna Goodhope had another solid performance with her first career double double as she had 11 points and 11 rebounds. In total, she had 39 points and 20 rebounds in two road games this weekend (28 points, nine rebounds vs. Minnesota State).

USF also had 13 points from Kaely Hummel, who made three, three-point field goals while dishing two assists. Hummel passed double digits in points for the 53^rd time and has 943 career points. Junior guard Jessie Geer added 12 points with three rebounds and a steal, block and assist. She reached double digits for the fourth time in five games.

The Cougars led the game four times and had as much as a six-point lead at 37-31 with 2:12 left in the first half. The Cougars trailed, 18-15, after the first quarter and then outscored the Golden Bears, 22-18, in the second quarter for a 37-36 lead at the break. However, CSP outscored USF, 16-13 in the third quarter and 17-14 in the fourth quarter to earn the 69-64 win.

USF, which shot 51.7 percent in the first half, made just 12-of-39 shots in the second half for 30.7 percent as they finished at 39.7 percent (27-of-68) for the game. The Cougars made 7-of-20 from three-point range for 35 percent but had just four foul shots and made three.

The Golden Bears had double doubles from Lindsay Dorr with 22 points and 11 rebounds and Kyrah Fredenburg with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Those two players had key roles for the CSP, which had a 48-38 edge on the boards. They had a 20-13 margin in offensive rebounds which proved beneficial. CSP had a 34-30 edge in points in the paint and 13-7 in second chance points. As a team, CSP shot 38.1 percent from the field (24-of-63) and made 6-of-15 from three-point range. But their edge at the foul line was significant as they made 15-of-26 foul shots, which provided an 11-point edge over USF. The Golden Bears also had 14 points from Riley Wheatcraft off the bench and she made a team-high 4-of-7 from three-point range.
 
Game Breakdown –
In the early going, Geer converted a turnover into a lay-up, Goodhope made a jumper and Hummel knocked in a three-pointer for a 7-5 lead with 7:29 to play in the first quarter. At the 5:35 mark, Hummel hit her second basket for an 11-7 advantage. With a Fredenburg lay-up, CSP responded to the early USF surge and tied the game at 13 (2:26). And, with Riley Wheatcraft's three with four seconds left in the first quarter, CSP closed on a 9-2 run for an 18-15 advantage.

Down five, Szymanski connected on a triple to draw the Cougars within 21-20 (8:46) early in the second quarter. Later, Szymanski had a steal and a lay-up for a 24-23 lead with 6:24 to play. Then, after CSP took the lead, Andi Mataloni hit a three for a 27-25 lead (5:37, 2^nd). 

Later, Gloria Mulumba, who had nine points and four rebounds, converted a free throw and made a lay-up for a 32-27 lead at the 3:47 mark.  After CSP's Wheatcraft hit another three, Hummel had the answer as USF took a 35-30 lead with 3:21 to play. Szymanski's jumper gave USF a 37-31 lead but they couldn't hold the lead. CSP had a three from Fredenburg and a pair of foul shots from Door to cut the lead to 37-36 by halftime.

In the opening two quarters, USF built a 37-36 lead over CSP as they hit 15-of-29 shots for 51.7 percent. The Cougars made 4-of-11 from three-point range but were outrebounded, 22-15 and gave up 13 offensive boards to the Golden Bears. Hummel led USF with 10 points while Szymanski had seven points and two rebounds. Geer added six points for the Cougars, which had seven turnovers. CSP, which had 13 points from Door, made 13-of-35 shots for 37.1 percent. They were 3-of-7 from three-point range and 7-of-11 from the foul line with seven turnovers.

CSP opened the third quarter with four straight points to take a 40-37 lead over USF. Hummel answered the quick run with a three-pointer as the game was tied at 40.  But CSP had the momentum and they scored five straight points to push their lead to 45-40 as the Cougars hit just 1-of-8 shots to open the quarter.  USF battled back and Goodhope had a game-tying three (45-45) with 3:50 to play.  CSP responded with seven straight points for a 52-45 lead with 1:54 left in the quarter. USF had the answer as they closed on a 5-0 run, including a trey by Syzmanski, to cut the lead to 52-50 at the quarter.

The team traded baskets early in the fourth quarter with a jumper by Geer keeping USF close at 58-56. After a three by Wheatcraft gave CSP a 61-56 lead, Goodhope pulled USF within 61-58 at the 5:02 mark. Then both teams struggled to score until Mulumba had a lay-up to cut the lead to 61-60 with 1:28 to play. However, CSP finished strong as they had a lay-up from Door and foul shots from Anna Schmitt and Fredenburg to push the lead to 65-60 with 17 seconds left. USF cut the lead to three points twice in the final 15 seconds but couldn't rally all the way back.

USF will return home to host U-Mary and Minot State on January 18-19 at the Stewart Center.