St. Paul, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team (6-3, 3-2 NSIC) lost the first game of the week against the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears (6-5, 3-2 NSIC), 82-79 Wednesday night in St. Paul, Minn. 

The teams traded baskets early and often in the first quarter, with offense coming easily for both squads.  The Golden Bears found early success from the three-point line, but the Mavericks responded with the first bench unit as Tayla Stuttley scored eight points in in five minutes while Taylor Drost added seven points in the same time on the floor.  A layup from Kirstin Klitzke with 19 seconds left cut the CSP lead to 27-26 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter saw the offensive pace slow down, and with a couple of threes late, the Golden Bears took a 45-40 lead into halftime.

The Golden Bears started the second half with an early run that pushed their lead to as much as 14-points.  A pair of free throws from Klitzke cut the CSP lead to 71-59 just before the end of the third quarter.

Minnesota State opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run that cut the Golden Bear lead down to six points with 6:45 left to go in the game.  After trading points, CSP hit a two-point jumper with 4:51 to go giving them a 77-69 lead.  The Mavericks once again went on a run, this time a 7-0 run, and managed to cut the Golden Bear lead to 77-76 before a pair of free throws gave CSP a three-point lead. 

On the ensuing possession, Klitzke drilled a jumper while being fouled, and after the free throw was made, managed to tie the game with :59 to go in the game.  After recovering an offensive rebound, the Golden Bears drilled a three-pointer to break the tie with :06 seconds to go in the game.  After the Mavericks used a timeout to advance the ball, Minnesota State was able to get a good look for Klitzke at the buzzer, but it went long, giving CSP the 82-79 win.

Klitzke led the Mavericks with 18 points while Rachel Shumski added 14 points as well as five rebounds.  Drost finished the game with 13 points and Stuttley recorded 10 as well. 
As a team, MSU stole the ball 13 times compared to seven from CSP, while both teams recorded 40 rebounds.  The Maverick bench once again proved a boon, scoring 39 points compared to only 10 from the Golden Bear reserves.  The deciding factor in the game was the three-point line, as CSP made 12 from beyond the arc while Minnesota State made three.

The Maverick's will return home to finish the 2019 portion of the season with a re-match against the Golden Bears, tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.