SEWARD, Neb. – In the first full week of conference action, the fifth-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball team will entertain College of Saint Mary before hitting the road for an early season showdown with defending national champion Dordt. In the GPAC opener this past weekend, Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad earned a 74-62 home win over Morningside. That result puts the Bulldogs at 3-1 overall.
This Week
Wednesday, Nov. 20 vs. College of Saint Mary (1-3, 0-1 GPAC), 7 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
Saturday, Nov. 23 at No. 1 Dordt (5-0, 1-0 GPAC), 2 p.m.
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: De Witt Gymnasium (Sioux Center, Iowa)
By the numbers
· The first NAIA coaches’ poll of the regular season was unveiled on Nov. 13. Concordia remained at No. 5, the same spot it held down in the preseason rankings. Other top 25 GPAC teams are No. 1 Dordt, No. 11 Dakota Wesleyan, No. 17 Briar Cliff and No. 21 Northwestern. Morningside was listed among others receiving votes. The Bulldogs have played two top 10 teams already this season – No. 4 Southern Oregon University and No. 7 Dakota State University (S.D.) (using the latest poll). Concordia emerged with a signature road win on Nov. 9 when it toppled Dakota State, 64-54, in Madison, S.D.
· All 12 teams in the GPAC played a conference game this past Saturday. The winners on the opening day of conference play (in addition to the Bulldogs) were Briar Cliff, Doane, Dordt, Hastings and Northwestern. In Crete, Doane knocked off No. 11 Dakota Wesleyan, 77-61, behind star senior guard Mak Hatcliff. There are four GPAC squads that are unbeaten overall this season: Dordt (5-0), Briar Cliff (4-0), Doane (3-0) and Hastings (3-0).
· In the tussle with Morningside, Concordia played well in spurts and built a fourth-quarter lead as large as 17 points (61-44). The visiting Mustangs charged back to get within five (66-61) in the final three minutes. However, the Bulldogs responded with buckets on back-to-back possessions (Raelyn Kelty and Sammy Leu) to hold off Morningside’s upset bid. A balanced Concordia effort included four double figure scoring outputs: Kendal Brigham (13), Leu (12), Megan Belt (11) and Kelty (11). Kelty also grabbed eight rebounds while Belt stroked 3-of-6 shots from beyond the arc. On the other side, Morningside (2-2, 0-1 GPAC) made only 2-of-21 tries from 3-point range and committed 20 turnovers.
· Now a graduate student, Brigham is closing in on 1,000 career points. Through 113 career collegiate games, the Wahoo, Neb., native has totaled 965 points, 272 rebounds, 257 assists and 124 steals. She sports an impressive career assist-to-turnover ratio of 257-to-122. Brigham has been named an Honorable Mention All-GPAC selection in back-to-back years and has been part of national tournament qualifying times in each of her previous four seasons as a Bulldog. Brigham will shoulder much of the load at point guard. She has played at least 34 minutes in three of this season’s first four games.
· The Millard South High School product Belt has been hot from long range to open 2024-25. She has drained at least two treys in all four games this season and is 12-for-26 (.462) from distance overall. Outside shooting has long been a strength for Belt. In 58 career collegiate games, she has shot 40.1 percent (97-for-242) from the perimeter and has totaled 320 points. By season, Belt has averaged 6.5, 4.3 and 9.8 points, respectively.
· Olson has used the same five starts for each of the first four games. The lineup features a backcourt of Brigham, Abby Krieser and Juliana Jones and frontcourt of Kelty and Kristin Vieselmeyer. There are six players who have appeared off the bench in all four games: Joclyn Bassett, Belt, Bree Bunting, Abby Heemstra, Libby Hoffman and Leu. Makynna Robbins has seen action in three contests. Brigham is far and away the team leader in minutes played with an average of 32.5 per game.
· In all three matchups last season, Concordia played Dordt to the wire but never got over the hump. The Defenders won those meetings by scores of 84-79 (Seward), 81-78 (Sioux Center) and 79-71 (Sioux Center) in the GPAC tournament championship game. The Defenders carried the No. 1 national ranking in the two regular season meetings and then landed at No. 2 prior to the GPAC tournament. Dordt has won each of the past seven series matchups with the Bulldogs.
The opponents
College of Saint Mary tabbed Natalie Miller as its new head coach after the 2023-24 team finished 1-26 overall (0-22 GPAC). Miller brings previous head coaching experience from her two-year tenure at NCAA Division III Beloit College. She was also a graduate assistant coach at Concordia University, Ann Arbor. Miller will attempt to change the program’s fortunes with the help of six freshmen, who make up a large portion of the varsity roster. The team’s leading scorer to this point has been Aleigha Jackson, who is averaging 17.7 points per game. Through four games this season, the Flames are averaging 61.0 points and allowing 83.0. CSM opened GPAC play with a 98-47 home loss at the hands of Dordt.
Under Head Coach Bill Harmsen, Dordt has become an elite program in the GPAC and NAIA. The Defenders celebrated a 2024 NAIA national title, two years after they finished as the national runner up. The returning All-GPAC players from the national championship team include first team guard Macy Sievers and second team forwards Gracie Schoonhoven and Janie Van Donge. The 5-0 mark to begin this season includes wins over three top 25 opponents: No. 20 Oregon Tech, No. 17 Grand View University (Iowa) and No. 7 Dakota State. Through the first five games, Dordt is averaging 87.2 points per game while allowing 62.2. The team’s three double-figure individual scorers are Van Donge (22.0), Seivers (17.2) and Olivia Harazin (13.2). Before welcoming Concordia to Sioux Center on Saturday, the Defenders will host new GPAC member Waldorf on Wednesday.
Next week
In the lone outing during the week of Thanksgiving, the Bulldogs will host Midland on Nov. 26. That contest will be the final game during the month of November.