ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Bulldogs turned up the heat in the third quarter but couldn’t hold on in the 82-73 road loss on Saturday (Feb. 8) versus Northwestern. Kendal Brigham sparked the second half comeback with 16 points (20 total) in the last 20 minutes at Bultman Center. Abby Krieser powered the defense with five of the nine team steals.
Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad drops to 13-10 overall and 8-10 in GPAC play.
“The is a big game and we didn’t come out with the right mindset and fight,” Coach Olson said. “After that point, we did fight. We did a great job in the second quarter to maintain and just kind of keep the lead at bay and cut it to nine going into the half. Awesome job in that third quarter. That’s what I was expecting. Intensity. Focus. Fight. Confidence. We played great basketball in the third quarter, but Northwestern is a good team. They were able to score a few times to get the lead back. It’s a very similar game to others this season, we got to have players step up and make plays. We did, but just not enough to get a good win on the road.”
Down 41-32 after half one, the Dawgs came out of the locker rooms with a 13-2 run to take their first lead since the beginning of the first quarter. Raelyn Kelty led the charge scoring all five of her points in the stretch. After the Red Raiders responded, Concordia pitched an 11-2 run to take a three-point lead at the end of the third via a Sammy Leu trey.
Northwestern used a 17-8 spurt to take the slim lead (71-66) broken up by Brigham’s eight points in the run. The home side used free throws to keep the advantage at a distance before the final buzzer.
The Bulldogs made seven 3-pointers (.336) compared to NWC’s three (.300) and forced 17 turnovers while having 13. Concordia shot 43.9 percent (25-for-57) from the field.
Kristin Vieselmeyer and Krieser dropped 12 apiece as Megan Belt collected seven. Brigham shot 66.6 percent (4-for-6) from beyond the arc and Kelty paced the team in rebounds (six).
Coach Olson said, “Kendal was great. It’s good to see her shoot the ball. We really want her to be even more aggressive. When she is on attack mode then we are a better basketball team. Whatever we can do to get her in that mindset is important for us in the next couple of games.”
The first contest (Jan. 18) was decided by a last second shot via Hali Anderson in favor of the visitors of Friedrich Arena.
Northwestern (17-8, 13-6 GPAC) had four hit double figures: Hali Anderson (17), Molly Schany (16), Jenna Kluxdal (11) and Lexie Van Kekerix (10). Van Kekerix had a game high in rebounds (eight). The Red Raiders pulled down 46 total boards and shot 46 percent (29-for-63) from the floor. They will face Hastings next Saturday on the road.
Concordia (13-11, 8-10 GPAC) is set to bout with Hastings (18-6, 13-5 GPAC) at Lynn Farrell Arena on Wednesday. The two teams will start at 6 p.m. CT in Hastings, Neb.