SEWARD, Neb. – At least for the moment, conference supremacy will be on the line on Wednesday evening when the top-ranked Concordia University women’s basketball team makes its way west to play at fourth-ranked Hastings. That contest will end a stretch of three-straight games against GPAC opponents ranked in the top 12 of the national poll. Head coach Drew Olson’s squad will also be back at home on Saturday to match up with Jamestown.
This Week
Wednesday, Jan. 8 at (4) Hastings (17-0, 9-0 GPAC), 6 p.m.
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Saturday, Jan. 11 vs. Jamestown (9-6, 4-5 GPAC), 2 p.m.
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So far so good during the aforementioned rigorous stretch in conference play. The likes of Grace Barry and Riley Sibbel were the ringleaders behind wins by scores of 97-81 at No. 12 Northwestern and 69-55 over No. 6 Dordt. The Bulldogs have now earned six wins over ranked opponents (based on rankings at the time games were played): No. 2 Southeastern, No. 6 Dordt, No. 7 Morningside, No. 9 University of St. Francis (Ill.), No. 12 Sterling College (Kan.) and No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan. Massey Ratings lists Concordia as having played the third most challenging schedule of any NAIA women’s basketball team.
Though both programs have been consistent winners, the Bulldogs and Broncos have not met when both teams were ranked in the top five nationally since Nov. 25, 2003, when No. 3 Concordia defeated No. 1 Hastings, 74-73. Back on Feb. 12, 2003, the then top-ranked Bulldogs got a last-second shot by Sarah Harrison to knock off No. 2 Hastings, 65-64. Todd Voss was the head coach at the time for Concordia, which had only recently become a national power. Currently, the Bulldogs have won eight in a row in the series versus the Broncos.
Sibbel is fresh off the best offensive week of her career. She put up what was a career high of 15 points at Northwestern. She then exceeded that in the first half versus Dordt and wound up with 26 points, to go along with three steals. Meanwhile, Barry notched 18 points and nine assists at Northwestern and 16 points and nine assists against Dordt. Barry ranks fifth nationally in assists per game. Philly Lammers now ranks third in program history with 1,788 career points. She ranks behind only Bailey Morris (2,054) and Sarah Harrison (1,800) in that category. The Millard West High School product also owns all-time school rankings of fifth in both rebounds (929) and steals (311).
A program that won national titles in 2002, 2003 and 2006, the 2019-20 Hastings (17-0) team has equaled a program record with the most victories to begin a season. Now in her fifth season as head coach of the Broncos, Jina Douglas may have her best team yet. Senior guard Shandra Farmer is the biggest star. She averages 13.6 points and is a lockdown defender. Hastings hasn’t dominated its opponents to the level that Concordia has, but it is limiting foes to just 56.9 points per game and 37.0 percent shooting. The Broncos own four wins over top 25 opponents.
Concordia alum Thad Sankey is in his second season as head coach of the Jimmies. In its first season as a GPAC member, Jamestown went 8-14 in conference games and missed the national tournament for the first time since 2011. A balanced team, the Jimmies do not have a single player averaging in double figures. Freshman Hannah DeMars is the leader at 9.4 points per game. Jamestown has shown an ability to create havoc defensively. It averages 12.9 steals per game (17th most in the nation).
A pair of road games are on the docket next week with the Bulldogs set to be headed to College of Saint Mary on Jan. 15 and then Briar Cliff on Jan. 18.
Projected Lineups
Concordia (14-1, 9-0 GPAC)
G – Grace Barry, Sr., 5-7 (12.8)
G – Riley Sibbel, Sr., 5-9 (6.1)
G – Mackenzie Koepke, So., 6-1 (9.1)
F – Colby Duvel, Sr., 5-9 (7.1)
F – Philly Lammers, Sr., 5-11 (14.3)
Hastings (17-0, 9-0 GPAC
G – Shandra Farmer, Sr., 5-6 (13.6)
G – Emma Grenfell, Sr., 5-6 (6.3)
G – Kaitlyn Schmit, Jr., 5-6 (9.4)
G – Sophia Pankratz, Sr., 5-7 (9.2)
F – Gabby Grasso, Sr., 5-11 (12.8)
Jamestown (9-6, 4-5 GPAC)
G – Paige Schmidt, Sr., 5-7 (6.3)
F – Emma Stoehr, Jr., 5-8 (5.7)
F – Noelle Josephson, So., 5-9 (7.7)
F – Hannah DeMers, Fr., 5-11 (9.4)
F – Olivia Anderson, Sr., 6-1 (8.7)