SEWARD, Neb. – On day two of the Cattle Classic, the fifth-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball team dug holes of 13 points in the second quarter and 10 points in the fourth quarter before coming with an eyelash of tying the game in the final seconds. By the time the clock read zeroes, fifth-ranked Southern Oregon had held off the Bulldogs, 71-68, in an NAIA top 10 clash. Kendal Brigham poured in seven points in the final six minutes while leading the comeback push.
Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad went 1-1 in its opening weekend of the 2024-25 season. The Bulldogs earned a 78-64 win over Oklahoma City University on Friday.
“The first thing (to take away) is how well we responded,” Olson said. “Southern Oregon is a really good team and applied a lot of pressure. We got down early pretty big. Part of that is we’re a new team. We’re trying to figure each other out and grow together. When we got down, I thought we responded really well and fought back. They hit that three and we go down 10 in the fourth quarter. Again, we responded in a great way. Our team has that fight and that toughness.”
In the waning moments on Saturday with Concordia trailing 70-68, Megan Belt drove baseline and couldn’t get a highly contested layup to go down. The Raiders secured the rebound and celebrated their second down-to-the-wire over a top 10 foe at the Cattle Classic. SOU followed the lead of Emma Schmerbach, who tallied 24 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Trailing 62-52 with fewer than nine minutes to play, the Bulldogs showed the type of toughness that will serve them well moving forward. The ensuing 9-2 spurt started with Concordia getting to the foul line and included a triple from Belt. Then in the final minute-and-a-half, Brigham came through with back-to-back buckets to get the Bulldogs within two. Brigham finished with a team high 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the floor.
Abby Krieser also reached double figures with 13 points (to go along with three assists). Rising sophomore Raelyn Kelty posted 14 points and five rebounds as she made the second start of her career. Belt added nine points on three treys off the bench. Concordia fell despite a 40-34 rebound advantage and a slight edge in turnovers.
The Bulldogs believe they will learn from the defeat. Said Olson of the sophomore class, “They’re doing great. We’re going to keep getting more confident and build more trust in all of them. Today was a day where we go against a really good team that’s pressing. We decided to go with Kendal and AK for more minutes, but I know Bree (Bunting), Jocelyn (Bassett) and Libby (Hoffman) are going to continue to grow.”
Schmerbach was joined in double figures by teammates Sierra Scheppele (12) and Meghan McIntyre (10). SOU shot 41.7 percent from the floor and got four key treys off the bench from Scheppele. The Raiders also defeated No. 6 Dakota State University (S.D.) on Friday.
Next up, the Bulldogs will take their shot at NCAA Division I University of Northern Colorado on Monday (exhibition for Concordia). The game is scheduled to tip off in Greeley, Colo., at 5:30 p.m. MT (6:30 p.m. CT) and will be carried live on ESPN+ (subscription required). The next official game on the slate will be next Saturday (Nov. 9) at sixth-ranked Dakota State, a Cattle Classic participant.
2024 All-Cattle Classic Women’s Team
Kendal Brigham, Concordia
Tabor Teel, Dakota State
Amaya Gordon, Oklahoma City
Sierra Scheppele, Southern Oregon
Emma Schmerbach, Southern Oregon