Bracket | National Tournament Press Guide
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – For the seventh time under head coach Drew Olson’s direction, the Concordia University women’s basketball team has advanced to at least the quarterfinal round of the NAIA Division II National Championship in Sioux City, Iowa. The Bulldogs are one of only eight teams left standing after defeating Wilberforce University (Ohio), 100-62, and then 17th-ranked Cardinal Stritch University (Wis.), 82-71, at the national tournament.
Now Concordia gets set to take on No. 7 Indiana Tech, a program the Bulldogs have never faced on this stage. The two sides will tip off at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the first of four quarterfinal matchups.
Saturday, March 9 | 1 p.m.
NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championships (Quarterfinals)
No. 1 Concordia (32-3) vs. No. 7 Indiana Tech (32-3)
Sioux City, Iowa | Tyson Events Center
Webcast: NAIA Network (fee required)
Radio: 104.9 Max Country (Tyler Cavalli)
Live stats: Dakstats
Seward watch parties: THOM Auditorium (on campus)/Bottle Rocket Brewing Co.
Sophomore Taylor Cockerill helped save Concordia from falling victim to a second round upset. The Wolves led 61-56 with under nine minutes remaining in the game before Cockerill went wild. The Waverly native exploded for 19 of her game high 26 points over the final 10 minutes. She was aided by the work of All-Americans Philly Lammers and Quinn Wragge, who totaled 16 points apiece. The effort pushed Wragge into No. 5 on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,750 points (15 behind Whitney Stichka for No. 4). It’s only a matter of time before Cockerill joins the 1,000-point club. She now has 886 in her first 72 collegiate games.
The Bulldogs are now 31-17 all-time at the national tournament. A victory on Saturday would put them into the national semifinals for the third year in a row, for the fourth time in five seasons and for the seventh time in program history. Olson now has 20 wins at the national tournament in his coaching career. Olson has been at the controls for each of the program’s last 11 appearances on the national stage. He’s led Concordia to the national title game in 2015 and 2018.
The Bulldogs and Warriors (32-3) have played each other just once. That meeting occurred in December 2016 at the Hoop N Surf Classic in Hawaii, where Concordia won, 68-57. Indiana Tech is seeking its first ever berth in the national semifinals. It had not reached the national quarterfinals since 1993. Head coach Jessie Biggs’ squad got to this point by claiming national tournament wins over West Virginia University Tech, 73-63, and Eastern Oregon University, 61-57. The Warriors are one of the nation’s top defensive teams, ranking third nationally in both scoring defense (54.1) and field goal percentage defense (.342). Kendall Knapke tops the team in scoring (15.9) and rebounding (7.7).
Unfamiliar foes continue to be puzzled by the Bulldog press. While Cardinal Stritch found some cracks in the Concordia zone, it committed 26 turnovers. The turnover count this season for Bulldog opponents has reached 1,069 (30.5 per game). Concordia remains the national leader in steals per game (20.4) and turnover margin (+13.1). The Bulldogs had a +16 turnover margin in Friday’s win.
The Concordia/Indiana Tech winner will advance to the national semifinals and take on whichever squad emerges from the Cramer Bracket. That semifinal is scheduled for a 6:05 p.m. CT tipoff on Monday (March 11).
Projected lineups
*Scoring average in parentheses
Concordia (32-3)
G – Grace Barry, Jr., 5-7 (11.0)
G – Taylor Cockerill, So., 5-9 (15.8)
G – Riley Sibbel, Jr., 5-9 (5.2)
F – Quinn Wragge, Sr., 6-0 (10.6)
F – Philly Lammers, Jr., 5-11 (14.7)
Indiana Tech (32-3)
G – Rachel Bell, So., 5-10 (8.1)
G – Alexis Hill, So., 5-9 (12.4)
G – Bella Lozano-Dobbs, Sr., 5-4 (7.1)
F – DeAnn Kauffman, Jr., 5-11 (13.3)
F – Kendall Knapke, Sr., 5-11 (15.9)