SEWARD, Neb. – Concordia women’s basketball had been put on hold, but the top-ranked Bulldogs will make their return to the court on Tuesday when GPAC play for the 2019-20 season tips off. Head coach Drew Olson’s squad has not played since winning twice at the 20th annual Cattle Classic (Nov. 1-2). Its stretch of nine days without a contest will conclude with Midland coming to town. Concordia (4-0) will also host Briar Cliff on Saturday.
This Week
Tuesday, Nov. 12 vs. Midland (3-2, 0-0 GPAC), 6 p.m.
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Saturday, Nov. 16 vs. Briar Cliff (1-3, 0-0 GPAC), 2 p.m.
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Opponents of the Bulldogs can only hope there will be some rust to knock off. Through four games, Concordia has defeated three teams ranked in the top 12 of the NAIA Division II preseason coaches’ poll: No. 12 Sterling College (Kan.), No. 2 Southeastern University (Fla.) and No. 9 University of St. Francis (Ill.). All the while, Olson’s bunch has averaged exactly 100 points per game and has flustered its foes into 135 combined turnovers and just 29.3 percent shooting from the floor. The Bulldogs are literally on another level having nearly beaten Big East member Creighton University (85-83 double overtime loss on Oct. 22) in an exhibition game.
Concordia will continue to be without last season’s leading scorer in Taylor Cockerill, but the depth one through 15 on the roster may be the best it’s ever been under Olson. Heading into this week, eight Bulldogs are averaging at least 7.0 points per game while no single player is averaging more than 21.3 minutes per game. Grace Barry (11.3), Philly Lammers (11.5) and Mackenzie Koepke (11.5) figure to be the team’s most dependable scorers throughout the balance of the campaign, but sophomore sharpshooter Delani Fahey is also developing into a nice weapon. She scored 11 points in a stretch of one-minute, 38-seconds versus St. Francis and is leading the team with an average of 12.0 points per game.
The national leaderboards are a reflection of Concordia’s early dominance. Among NAIA Division II teams, it ranks first in steals per game (25.75), first in scoring margin (+49.3), first in turnover margin (+14.5), second in 3-point field goals per game (13.0), second in scoring offense (100.0), fourth in field goal percentage defense (.293), fourth in field goal percentage offense (.490), sixth in scoring defense (50.8), 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (.391) and 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.16).
Head coach Shawn Gilbert’s squad will bring some momentum to Walz Arena having upset 18th-ranked Tabor College (Kan.), 63-55, on the road this past weekend. Midland wins over Concordia have been exceedingly rare. In fact, Olson had not suffered a defeat at the hands of the Warriors until a stunning upset occurred in Fremont on Jan. 31, 2018. Midland graduated steady performer Maddie Egr, but returns senior guard Amanda Hansen, who has scored exactly 1,000 career points. Picked seventh in the GPAC, the Warriors have outscored their opponents, on average, 67.4 to 60.0.
Mike Power is in his 20th season as head coach at Briar Cliff. The Chargers would like to get back to being a national tournament team, which they have not been since 2016. After beginning its season with a win at Dakota State University (S.D.), Briar Cliff has dropped three in a row against nationally-ranked foes. Power deploys three players who are averaging 13.0 or more points: Konnor Sudmann (18.8), Madelyn Deitchler (14.0) and Alyssa Carley (13.0). The Bulldogs have won six-straight meetings in the series.
The final two games of the month of November will be Nov. 20 at home versus College of Saint Mary and at No. 19 Morningside on Nov. 26.