VIDEO: Postgame reaction from Head Coach Drew Olson and freshman Taylor Farrell
SEWARD, Neb. – Three days after suffering its first conference loss of the season, the top-ranked Concordia University women’s basketball team returned to dominance with a 105-56 blowout victory over Jamestown. The Bulldogs turned up the heat in their full-court press and flustered the Jimmies into 38 turnovers and 31.1 percent shooting from the floor.
Fourteenth-year head coach Drew Olson’s squad may lose its No. 1 national ranking next week when a new poll comes out, but all its goals are still out in front of it. Concordia is now 15-2 overall (10-1 GPAC).
“We talked about getting back to playing our style of basketball,” Olson said. “It’s high pressure, playing as hard as we possibly can and being together. I thought we did a really good job of that for the most part today.”
Under Olson, the Bulldogs almost never lose two games in a row. In other words, Jamestown (10-7, 4-6 GPAC) faced an uphill battle while up against a program that has fallen at home only once since late January of 2016. This time, Concordia started fast with a 10-0 run out of the gate and never gave the Jimmies a chance. The lead stood in double digits for the entirety of the final three quarters and peaked at 49 in the fourth period.
Off the bench, freshman Taylor Farrell sniped from long range, hitting 5-of-6 tries from beyond the arc. She led a typical balanced attack for the Bulldogs, who had five double-figure scorers, including Grace Barry (14), Riley Sibbel (14), Philly Lammers (13) and Claire Cornell (10). Cornell topped Concordia with eight rebounds while Colby Duvel and Lammers grabbed seven boards apiece.
Farrell is an impressive 25-for-48 (.521) from 3-point range this season. The 18 points she totaled equaled her career high from the pre-Christmas victory over William Carey University (Miss.).
“I think it really opened our eyes,” Farrell said of Wednesday’s loss at No. 4 Hastings. “We all came here really ready to go today. We were very focused.”
That focus was evident on the defensive end. By halftime, the outcome had already been decided. A 22-3 run to begin the second quarter put Concordia up 51-17. That spurt got kick-started by treys on three-straight possessions – two from Farrell. The lead expanded as the turnovers mounted. Two Jimmie starters committed eight turnovers apiece.
Only one Jamestown player managed to crack double figures. Hannah DeMars posted 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The Jimmies also shot just 5-for-22 (.227) from 3-point range. Concordia alum Thad Sankey’s squad had come off of a win four days earlier over Valley City State University (N.D.).
Amazing Grace added five assists and four steals to her stat line. By day’s end, Lammers ran her career point total to 1,812. That number puts her at No. 2 behind only Bailey Morris (2,054) on the program’s all-time scoring list. Another career milestone is within Lammer’s reach. She has grabbed 946 rebounds at Concordia.
The Bulldogs will hit the road on Wednesday to play at College of Saint Mary (5-13, 2-9 GPAC). Tipoff from Omaha, Neb., is set for 6 p.m. CT. Back on Nov. 20, Concordia broke a school record for points in a single game with a 127-51 home victory over the Flames.