ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minot State University battled Concordia-St. Paul for much of the night, but a slow stretch in the third quarter allowed the Golden Bears to open a lead they didn't relinquish, topping MSU 63-53 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball Saturday at the Gangelhoff Center.
 
The Beavers (3-15 overall, 1-11 NSIC) trailed by just four points at halftime and held CSP's offense to just 11 field goals in the first 20 minutes, but struggled to score on their own end. MSU mustered just three field goals in the third as the Golden Bears outscored MSU 18-10 to take a 12-point lead after three.
 
"We really battled tonight and had a gutsy effort," said MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding. "We shot ourselves in the foot a few times with poor execution but we couldn't ask much more as far as resilience and effort. We are improving every day and really competing."
 
MSU cut the 12 point lead to under double figures multiple times in the fourth quarter, getting as close as six points on a 3-pointer by Kori Eurich late in the game, but CSP answered with a 3 of their own to push it back to nine.
 
Minot State got a great overall offensive game from Madison Wald as she finished with 18 points to lead the team, while Kristal Flowers earned another double-double on the year, scoring 10 points and finishing with 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive end.
 
But turnovers – and Golden Bear points off of turnovers – was too much for the Beavers to overcome. MSU had 18 turnovers and CSP turned that into 12 points in the game.
 
CSP's Anna Schmitt hit four 3-pointers en route to a game-high 24 points. Kyrah Fredenburg finished with a double-double of her own, scoring 10 and adding 13 rebounds.
 
Kari Clements finished with seven points, three assists and two rebounds for the Beavers, while Eurich knocked down two 3s to score six and finished with four rebounds and three assists in the loss.
 
Minot State returns home for a pair of NSIC North Division games next weekend, taking on Bemidji State Friday and Minnesota Crookston Saturday at the Dome.
 
About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.