HONOLULU, Hawaii – Only up a bucket, Ayla Roth and the Dawgs chopped down the hopes of an upset-minded University of Providence with a 14-0 scoring onslaught to begin the final quarter on Friday (Dec. 19). No. 9 Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball put the pressure on the defensive end and forced 19 turnovers to convert 12 three-pointers in the Hoops in Hawaii Classic. Roth dialed up a gritty season-high 25 points.
Head Coach Drew Olson and the tourist Bulldogs move to 11-3 overall and split in their trip to the Shark Tank.
"I felt like over the past few weeks we haven’t been ourselves. We needed people to step up and relieve the pressure. We got that out of Ayla today,” Coach Olson said. “Bree was fantastic. We just had multiple players step up and make plays that we just hadn’t had in the last few games. The first half, we were a little bit out of sorts. Again, feeling that tension and that pressure. In the second half, we just fed off of each other's confidence and playmaking ability. The game is a whole lot easier when the ball goes in the basket.”
The deciding run started with back-to-back scores by Bree Bunting for five points as she ended in double figures (10). The assist to Bunting fired up the freshman Roth, who scored six points off two treys with a steal to boot. With a pair of swipes by JJ Jones and Kristin Vieselmeyer, the drought continued for the Argonauts as Libby Hoffman capped the blunder with a trey from Sammy Leu.
Eighteen of Roth’s 25 on the scoreboard came from the long-range variety as the Milford High School alum dropped an improved 5-for-7 from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs shot 62.5 (5-for-8) percent from beyond the arc in the fourth stanza and held their adversaries to 18.2 (2-for-11) from field goal range.
Concordia owned the glass in the second half, subbing in a ball hawk Makynna Robbins to pace the team at the top of the block with seven rebounds and in only 12 minutes of play. The Seward bench had four reach at least six boards, including Robbins, Vieselmeyer, Raelyn Kelty and Roth to amass 43 total.
Jones did the majority of her damage (eight points) in the 12-0 drive to push the Dawgs ahead in the third frame. Vieselmeyer marked all of her nine points in the first half as Kelty and Leu (six points, 2 steals) dished out five and four assists, respectively.
Providence (8-5) relied on performances by McKenna Reggear (11 points, seven rebounds, three steals), Camryn Cartwright (nine points, three steals) and Ainsley Thurber (nine rebounds, five points). The Argos will face Lakeland College in an exhibition on Sunday (Dec. 28) following today’s game.
Concordia (11-3, 6-2 GPAC) will have the rest of 2025 to relax in Hawaii and take trips home for Christmas before bringing in the new year against Northwestern (7-4, 4-3 GPAC). The Bulldogs will host the Red Raiders on Saturday (Jan. 3) at 2 p.m. CT in Friedrich Arena. CUNE defeated NWC, 88-66, earlier in the season.
All-Hoops in Hawaii Classic Team
MVP - Avery Broughton, Dakota Wesleyan
Dea Bradley, Campbellsville
Whitney Hay, Campbellsville
Sofia Mokofisi, Providence
Ayla Roth, Concordia
Emma Yost, Dakota Wesleyan