SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – No. 8 seed Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball battled fiercely but fell (80-66) to No. 1 Dordt in a tough GPAC quarterfinal showdown on Wednesday (Feb. 26). The Defenders used a 9-2 run going into the fourth quarter to push the lead to double digits and finish off the Bulldogs in the final 10 minutes. CUNE’s Megan Belt splashed with 17 points on 5-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
Head Coach Drew Olson and company finished with a 14-15 record in the conference opening round.
“We played really hard,” said Coach Olson. “We started off well. We had a really good run in the second quarter. We felt good going into the second half down one, Dordt is just a tough team. We did battle but we just didn’t have a huge surge, like we did in the second quarter, that we needed to cut the lead. Megan shot well. Rae was a huge lift. She was a warrior today because she was probably at about 50 percent. With Abby, Kendal and AK, I felt like they gave us all they could have today.”
Down at the halftime break, the Bulldogs jockeyed for position as the two teams worked to tie at 40 apiece in the third quarter. Abby Krieser scored two of her nine points, while Raelyn Kelty dropped a triple and the Kiowa, Colo., native bottomed 10 points (3-for-4 3PT) coming off an injury.
The Defenders used a 14-5 spurt to get ahead (54-45) in the third, but Abby Heemstra and Megan Belt helped to answer to make the lead leash within striking distance. Dordt would finally use the 9-2 run to get ahead to double digits and keep the Bulldogs at arm’s length in the final minutes.
After Belt and Kelty, Abby Krieser (nine), Kristin Vieselmeyer (nine) and Heemstra (eight) helped gather the 66-point total. Heemstra, a Rock Valley, Iowa, native pulled down a team high eight boards with Juliana Jones and Kelty grabbing four. Krieser, the product of Lincoln North Star, also tallied four assists and four steals, and has averaged almost three steals (2.8) in her last eight games.
The defense swarmed in different moments forcing 15 turnovers, five steals and seven blocks – three coming from Vieselmeyer. Shooting 40 percent from the floor, the Bulldogs shot a hefty 10-for-24 from 3-point range and 80 percent (12-for-15) from the charity stripe.
Coach Olson said, “This was a really weird season. This is a good team. We had a lot of bad breaks and a lot of heartaches. We just needed some more things to go our way to be able to keep playing and go to the national tournament. The margin to get there is small. I’m proud of our team. We fought every game. We got a lot to be proud of and a lot to learn from.”
Dordt was led by the talented Macy Sievers with 20 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and three steals. Janie Van Donge (15) and Gracie Schoonhoven (14) followed and Ellie Lems had a 10-point, 11-rebound double double. The Defenders will take on No. 4 seed Hastings this Saturday in Sioux Center.
Concordia finishes its season 14-15 overall and 9-13 in the conference. The Bulldogs will now look toward the 2025-26 basketball season.