SEWARD, Neb. – Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball seeks to earn two more victories as it invites Midland and No. 1 Dordt into the Dawg cage in the next seven days. The Bulldogs split their last two contests, outlasting Hastings (83-77) but couldn’t complete the road robbery versus No. 9 Dakota Wesleyan (78-69). With one more win, Head Coach Drew Olson will reach 500 for his career.
This Week
Wednesday, Jan. 21 vs. Midland (3-16, 2-11 GPAC), 6 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
Saturday, Jan. 24 vs. No. 1 Dordt (18-1, 12-1 GPAC), 2 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
By the numbers
· The countdown for Drew Olson has moved forward as the head coach has 499 career wins – already the most in Concordia Athletics history. In his 20th season, Olson had six 30+ win seasons and fifteen 20+ wins in a campaign. During his tenure, Olson has directed his teams to a combined 12 GPAC titles (tournament and regular season), 16 national tournament trips and five national semifinal appearances. The 2019-20 (32-2), 2018-19 (35-3), 2017-18 (36-2), 2014-15 (35-3), 2016-17 (34-3) and 2011-12 (34-3) squads each reached the 30-win tally.
· Olson has compiled a conference mark of 304-106 in his career. On Nov. 12, 2014, Olson surpassed Carl Everts (195 wins) for most victories in program history. Olson later picked up his 200th career win when the Bulldogs topped Doane on Dec. 3, 2014. His 300th triumph occurred Jan. 10, 2018, versus Briar Cliff while win No. 400 came over Dordt on Feb. 3, 2021. Another milestone win came on Nov. 15, 2023, when Olson picked up No. 446 in his career, surpassing his former coach, Grant Schmidt, for the most coaching victories in the history of Concordia Athletics.
· The blistering pace of defense between Hastings and Concordia set the tone with 17 combined turnovers in the opening quarter. With the sprint starting to weigh on the visitors, Concordia went to the free throw line 29 times, making 24 (82.8 percent). Kristin Vieselmeyer (9-for-9), Kelty (6-for-6), Bree Bunting (2-for-2) and Makynna Robbins (2-for-2) were perfect from the charity stripe. Without an inordinate number of fouls, the Bulldogs held the Broncos to 24.1 (7-for-29) percent from three and only 11 shots at the line. The home whites were led by Vieselmeyer (18), Gabrielle Wagner (13) and Kelty (12) in points. Wagner went 4-for-7 from long range to reach her career high.
· A top-10 meeting between the Tigers and Bulldogs came to an end with DWU having the final answer in the final minutes from free throws. Concordia went on an 8-2 run, cutting the lead to five points but couldn’t get the contest down to a possession. The visitors’ first half percentage (33.3) forced them to play catch-up in the Corn Palace. Four Bulldogs reached double figures, including Bunting (career high), Kelty (15), Jones (13) and Roth (13). Jones was efficient in going 4-for-5 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
· A big reason why the Bulldogs went on a five-contest roll is the continuing emergence of Roth. In the last four games, the Milford, Neb., product has averaged 16.2 points per game and 42.5 (31-for-73) percent field goal shooting. A freshman point guard, Roth has hit 44.4 (20-for-45) percent from 3-point land, while also contributing 3.3 rebounds per game and 2.2 assists during that stretch. Her last six point totals were 25, 14, 16, 20, 9 and 13, hitting double digits five times.
· Starting all 17 games, Raelyn Kelty averages 7.5 points a contest and 5.3 rebounds. The Kiowa, Colo., native has reached double figures four times, shooting 44.3 percent from the field. Rae’s season high came against Briar Cliff with 19 points. She also tallied 15 points against Midland and Dakota Wesleyan. She leads the team in free throw shooting at 88.2 (30-for-34) percent and hasn’t missed from the line (24-for-24) since Nov. 19. Kelty has caught fire from three going 50 percent (9-for-18) in the last five games. The 5-11 forward has 454 career points with a 43.9 shooting clip and 77 games played in her career.
· Concordia has jumped up one spot since the last NAIA RPI ratings. The Bulldogs are rated 26th in the newest release from Monday (Jan.19). The RPI has Concordia’s strength of schedule slotted at No. 60. Other GPAC teams in the top-25 are Dordt (7th) and Dakota Wesleyan (21st). Briar Cliff (32), Hastings (45) and Northwestern (80) are in the first 80 squads. The Red Raiders (30) and Dordt (40) have the hardest slate of top GPAC schools.
Probable Lineup
G – Bree Bunting, 5-9 (9.7)
G – Ayla Roth, 5-9 (10.6)
G – Sammy Leu, 5-10 (8.4)
F – Raelyn Kelty, 5-11 (7.5)
F – Kristin Vieselmeyer, 6-2 (11.3)
The opponents
The Warriors are 3-16 overall and 2-11 in conference play. They earned their third win of the season in the last contest defeating Waldorf, 78-54, as Grace Webber surpassed 1,000 career points. Webber, out of Spring Hill, Kan., averages a team-best 19.2 points per game, 5.7 boards and 1.8 steals. Ellie Bovaird dishes out 2.7 assists and 7.7 points each game. Midland collectively scores 54.3 points every 40 minutes at a 33.9 percent shooting clip. From 3-point land, the Warriors shell out 27.6 percent and 67.5 percent from the charity stripe. The Warriors rebound 34.2 per contest and serve up 9.7 assists.
Midland Probable Lineup
G – Mya Lempp, 5-8 (1.4)
G – Cierra Barbary, 5-6 (3.0)
G – Ellie Bovaird, 5-11 (7.7)
G – Ciera Jorge, 5-3 (7.7)
F – Jenna Weber, 5-9 (19.2)
The Defenders are 18-1 through the first 19 games and on a 10-game win streak with a 12-1 GPAC showing. Dordt racks up 84.6 points per game, while allowing its opponents 58.3. The Defenders shoot at a 46.0 percent rate from the floor suffocating their opposition to 33.8. The Sioux Center bench does so by superior rebounding (46.1) and forcing turnovers (19.2). The yellow and black gain 22.4 points off turnovers doubling what it gives up. NAIA player of the year last season, Macy Sievers, is averaging 15.3 points, 8.8 assists, 8.4 rebounds and 2.6 steals a game. Gracie Schoonhoven leads the GPAC in scoring with 22.6 per contest and is efficient with a conference lead of 64.2 percent shooting from the field.
Dordt Probable Lineup
G – Gracie Schoonhoven, 5-11 (22.6)
G – Macy Sievers, 5-8 (15.3)
G – Willow Bleeker, 5-9 (9.1)
G – Olivia Harazin, 5-7 (8.11)
F – Desta Hoogendoorn, 6-0 (7.7)
Next week
The Bulldogs will hit the road for their longest road trip of the conference to Forest City, Iowa and take on Waldorf on Jan. 31. Concordia will have a mid-week bye before making that trek.