SEWARD, Neb. – A rivalry that has blossomed in recent seasons will get another reboot on Saturday when 2018 NAIA Division II national championship game combatants Concordia and Dakota Wesleyan meet at the Corn Palace. Tipoff from Mitchell, S.D., is set for 4 p.m. CT between sides who currently occupy the top two spots in the GPAC standings.
Game Info
No. 3 Concordia (11-1, 7-1) at No. 1 Dakota Wesleyan (12-0, 8-0)
Saturday, Dec. 15 | 4 p.m. CST
Mitchell, S.D. | Corn Palace
Radio: 104.9 Max Country (Tyler Cavalli)
Webcast: Stretch Internet
The storylines essentially write themselves this week. The two GPAC and national powerhouses met four times last season. Head coach Drew Olson’s program swept the regular-season matchups and then won another pulse pounder in the GPAC tournament championship game with the help of a game-winning layup by Brenleigh Daum in the final seconds. Dakota Wesleyan ultimately avenged those defeats by drubbing the Bulldogs, 82-59, in the national title tilt in Sioux City, Iowa. The bitter loss again kept Concordia from realizing its ultimate goal.
Olson’s 2018-19 team appears capable of making another push deep into March. The possession of a game-dictating point guard in Grace Barry and a dominant post player in Philly Lammers are enough to make plenty of opponents envious. Barry has proven to be the perfect addition to the lineup so far. She entered the week as the national leader in assists (6.7) and steals (4.17) per game. She’s coming off a 13-assist, seven-steal performance in last week’s 99-68 win over Mount Marty. Meanwhile, Lammers was unstoppable last week. She totaled 46 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks and five steals while shooting 20-for-28 from the floor in the victories over Doane and Mount Marty.
Matchups with No. 1-ranked teams are nothing new for Olson’s program, which has played against squads sporting the No. 1 ranking eight times since the start of the 2014-15 season. In two of those instances, the Bulldogs won on the home court of the opponent – March 3, 2015, at No. 1 Morningside in the GPAC tournament final and Dec. 29, 2017, at No. 1 Saint Xavier University (Ill.). Concordia also clipped top-ranked Dakota Wesleyan, 85-82, inside Walz Arena on Dec. 3, 2016.
Versus No. 1 teams since 2014-15
12/29/17 at No. 1 Saint Xavier (Ill.) – W, 81-60
12/3/16 vs. No. 1 Dakota Wesleyan – W, 85-82
11/28/16 vs. No. 1 Marian (Ind.) – L, 64-72
11/21/15 vs. No. 1 Morningside – L, 66-77
3/17/15 vs. No. 1 Morningside – L, 57-59 (national title game)
3/3/15 at No. 1 Morningside – W, 80-72 (GPAC tournament championship game)
2/21/15 at No. 1 Morningside – L, 76-77
The Tigers will enter Saturday’s contest without a blemish on their record, pending Wednesday’s game versus Dakota State University (S.D.). Head coach Jason Christensen’s program returned two players who started in last season’s national championship game – standouts in junior guard Kynedi Cheeseman and senior guard Rylie Osthus. They also welcomed back another key performer in Sarah Carr, who has started all 12 games this season. Dakota Wesleyan remains an elite team despite the graduation of the Bray twins. Nationally, the Tigers rank fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.31), fifth in field goal percentage (.462), eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.371) and 10th in scoring margin (+20.4).
In terms of competitiveness, the national championship game was an outlier. Four of the past seven meetings between Concordia and Dakota Wesleyan have been decided by margins of four points or less. The Bulldogs won at the Corn Palace last season, 70-66. Following action on Saturday, Concordia will wait until its Phoenix, Ariz., trip (Dec. 27-28) for a return to the court. The two-game swing in Phoenix will feature a matchup with No. 2 Southeastern University (Fla.).
Projected Starters
(Scoring average in parentheses)
Concordia (11-1, 7-1 GPAC)
G – Grace Barry, Jr., 5-7 (11.2)
G – Taylor Cockerill, So., 5-9 (15.9)
G – Riley Sibbel, Jr., 5-9 (5.3)
F – Quinn Wragge, Sr., 6-0 (13.0)
F – Philly Lammers, Jr., 5-11 (12.8)
Dakota Wesleyan (12-0, 8-0 GPAC)
G – Kynedi Cheeseman, Jr., 5-10 (19.2)
G – Madison Mathews, Sr., 5-8 (5.6)
G – Rylie Osthus, Sr., 5-9 (10.8)
F – Sarah Carr, Jr., 6-0 (16.1)
F – Makaela Karst, Jr., 6-2 (10.5)