RIVERSIDE, Calif. – It was a mismatch from the opening tipoff. In venturing to Riverside, Calif., for the start of Christmas break, the 14th-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball team carried over the offensive firepower it displayed in its most recent win over Waldorf and pummeled host La Sierra University, 87-47, on Friday (Dec. 20) afternoon. The Bulldogs rattled off the game’s first 13 points and led by a 28-4 score at the end of the opening quarter.
Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad bumped its overall record to 7-5 in what marked its final outing of the calendar year 2024. This was the team’s second most lopsided win of the campaign to date.
“I thought we handled it really well,” Olson said. “We had a long road trip and didn’t get a lot of sleep yesterday. We didn’t know much about our opponent, but we were pretty sharp for the most part. We took care of the basketball, we executed and made open shots. We played really hard and had a lot of people contribute. I’m confident in our group and confident in what we’re doing offensively. We’re not doing it perfectly yet. Now we need to continue to be sharp when we come back from break.”
After a run of offensive performances that fell below the standard, Concordia believes it found its mojo beginning with the fourth quarter of the clash with Hastings on Dec. 11. In Friday’s outing against their California Pacific Conference foe, the Bulldogs made 11-of-17 shots in the first quarter in building a comfortable lead maintained throughout the afternoon. Less than a week after canning 18 treys in the 98-53 win at Waldorf, Concordia scorched in Cali by netting 11-of-28 (.393) attempts from the perimeter. Sophomore Libby Hoffman got loose while knocking down 4-of-5 3-point tries in the first half.
The lopsided nature of the contest provided opportunities up and down the Bulldog roster. Six Concordia players took advantage and tallied at least eight points, including Kendal Brigham (15), Raelyn Kelty (14), Hoffman (12), Makynna Robbins (nine), JJ Jones (eight) and Kristin Vieselmeyer (eight). In addition, Brigham dished out four assists, Vieselmeyer grabbed six rebounds and Kelty swiped three steals. All 13 Bulldogs who stepped onto the court scored at least one point.
The 40-point final margin also had a lot to do with Concordia’s aggressive defensive approach that yielded 22 Golden Eagles turnovers and only 26.2 percent shooting (11-for-42). La Sierra (2-7) made only 1-of-12 tries from beyond the arc. Earlier this season, the Golden Eagles were beaten by just 14 points (70-56) by NCAA Division I Cal State Northridge. La Sierra was paced on Friday by three double-figure scorers: Symere Shelton (11), Breonna Martinez (10) and Kaydn Mew (10).
Said Olson, “It was nice to get everybody in. I thought Libby played well. Against a zone, she’s really good at hitting 3s. Rae had a good start to the game, and it was good to see Kendal being aggressive. Defensively, we were pretty solid.”
The trip allowed Olson to connect again with his brother Jarrod, the head women’s basketball coach at California Baptist University. The Bulldogs will spend the weekend in California taking in sights and engaging in tourist activities. The only remaining nonconference games left in the regular season will take place at CIT in Ann Arbor.
Upon returning from southern California, the Bulldogs will have a break in the action. Concordia will ring in 2025 with a trip to Mitchell, S.D., where Concordia will take on No. 17 Dakota Wesleyan (10-3, 5-2 GPAC) on Jan. 2. The two sides split last season’s two meetings with the home team triumphing in both instances.