SEWARD, Neb. – A clash of two top-10 titans was won by No. 1 Dordt, 72-56, with superior board play and second-chance points, particularly in the opening quarter, to defeat the No. 10 Bulldogs on Saturday (Jan. 24). Concordia University, Nebraska made a third quarter push, but the deficit was too large as the final three quarters were virtually deadlocked in scoring. Ayla Roth and Kristin Vieselmeyer led the home squad in points with 15 each.
Head Coach Drew Olson have lost 12 straight to the Defenders and drop their overall record to 16-5 overall and 11-4 in the GPAC.
“I like that we fought back,” Coach Olson said. “We could have definitely laid down after the way that first quarter went, but we have a tough group that fought and gave us hope in the third quarter. I kinda felt like we had them for a little bit, but we weren’t good enough to beat a great team. We missed a lot of layups but we have to regroup and be better.”
Dordt launched into the lead in the first stanza with a 13-4 sprint on the back of Gracie Schoonhoven’s 11 (29 total) initial quarter points. Macy Sievers' elite passing (9 assists) joined the mix as the Defenders outhustled their opposition (26-13 rebounds in 1st half) to their largest lead (20) of the contest at the 8:16 mark in the second frame (32-12).
The side in white came out of the lockerooms with a razor-sharp edge and cut the Defender lead (44-38) with a 13-2 pouncing. The eventual Bulldog point leaders Roth and Vieselmeyer drilled two buckets apiece in the route.
Dordt responded extending the lead back out to double figures (56-40) by the end of the third and rode the advantage out to the final buzzer.
Mistakes were made by both squads on offense as opposing defenses forced 17 turnovers each. Sammy Leu tallied eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. Makynna Robbins pulled down six boards. Abbie Kromarek (six points, two steals) provided valuable minutes on defense to help slow down the Dordt offense in the final three quarters.
Olson said, “Both (Roth, Vieselmeyer) of those two played well. I thought Sammy had a really nice game.”
The Defenders (19-1, 13-1 GPAC) used drive and kick action to get open shots for 47.6 (30-for-63) percent shooting from the floor. Dordt ate up 48 rebounds (17 offensive) and gained distance from a 20-4 second-chance point margin. Schoonhoven (10 rebounds) and Sievers (16 points, 11 rebounds) led all scorers as the 2024-25 NAIA player of the year was one assist shy of a triple-double.
Concordia (16-5, 11-4 GPAC) will be on the road for the next two contests with Waldorf (2-19, 1-14 GPAC) due next on Saturday. The Bulldogs will tip-off at 2 p.m. CT in Forest City. Concordia bested the Warriors 133-48 in the first meeting between the two sides.