The 2024-25 season was one defined by “heartaches,” as Head Coach Drew Olson described it in the aftermath of his squad’s GPAC tournament quarterfinal defeat. Following the postseason loss at No. 1 Dordt, the Bulldogs were left to process an unfamiliarly abrupt ending. It’s an awkward feeling for a powerhouse program that hung a national championship banner in its not-so-distant past. Just a year earlier, Concordia advanced to the final site of the national tournament and spent virtually that entire 2023-24 season ranked amongst the NAIA’s top 10.
Things were going to be different without All-American Taysha Rushton and fellow key ’24 seniors Sadie Powell and Mackenzie Toomey. However, Olson felt confident the program would absorb the departures, redefine itself and reach the national tournament, just like always.
“It was a tough season,” Olson said. “We had really big expectations for this group. The black and white of it is we didn’t come up with enough wins for us to keep our season going into the national tournament, which is where we expected to be. I feel like our team is that good to be there. In our league, we had four elite teams that were really tough to beat. We had opportunities to get a couple of wins (and we didn’t). Part of it was some bad breaks. Part of it was stuff that we controlled.”
The final overall record dipped below .500 at 14-15. Had the outcomes of perhaps two or three of the heartbreakers gone the other way, the Bulldogs likely would have heard their named called during the NAIA’s national tournament selection show. This team wasn’t far off. It lost twice in overtime to top-ranked Dordt, it fell by three points to No. 2 Southern Oregon, it suffered defeats in the last seconds of regulation to Hastings, Mount Marty and Northwestern, and there was that double overtime downer at Doane. Concordia also dropped an exhibition to an NCAA Division I opponent by a single basket.
There were better moments. Early in the season, the Bulldogs went on the road and beat then sixth-ranked Dakota State by 10. They also emerged as the CIT champions behind a starring performance from freshman Makynna Robbins and later avenged a loss by toppling Doane, 71-61, in the home finale. In one of the lasting images of the season, graduate student Kendal Brigham and seniors Abby Heemstra and Abby Krieser were joined in a group hug at The Victory Bell by juniors Megan Belt and Kristin Vieselmeyer. Knowing it was the final time playing at home for Brigham, Heemstra and Krieser, they held that hug just a little longer and a little tighter.
What it means to be part of the program didn’t change just because Concordia didn’t win as many games as it had hoped. Olson looks at his two seniors and super senior Brigham as prime examples of the “selfless” attitude and Christian character the program holds dear as a core values.
“There are lots of lessons to be learned from this season and hopefully grow from it,” Olson said. “I think we have a really good group coming back and a great incoming class that we’re really excited about. I haven’t thought too deep (into next season). I think about what AK, Abby and Kendal have done for this program and how special they are as people. They really embody our values of being selfless and being resilient. In the things that they’ve been through, they’ve shown incredible character. They’re just great people.”
In using the ‘COVID exemption’ that granted Brigham one more season, she took on the largest role she ever had as a Bulldog. The Wahoo native started all 29 games at the point and led the team in key categories such as scoring average (10.8), minutes per game (31.4) and assists (3.4) while displaying her road runner-like attributes with the ball in her hands. Brigham reached 1,000 career points just before Thanksgiving and finished with 1,233 for her career. Brigham, Krieser and Heemstra were part of three teams that reached the national tournament.
Brigham and Vieselmeyer were named to the GPAC’s second team while Krieser and Raelyn Kelty garnered honorable mention distinction. In taking another step forward as one of the league’s top post players, Vieselmeyer (10.2 points/game) put together two separate 27-point outings, including one in a near miss at No. 1 Dordt. Meanwhile, Krieser concluded a strong four-year run with 933 career points and Kelty emerged as the team’s leading rebounder (6.0 per game).
A Colorado native like Vieselmeyer, Kelty led a large sophomore class that will have a major say in the success of the 2025-26 team. The class also includes varsity contributors in Joclyn Bassett, Bree Bunting, Jordan Ernstmeyer, Libby Hoffman, JJ Jones and Sammy Leu. Each one enjoyed moments of brilliance this past season. Vieselmeyer and sharpshooting Megan Belt (18 starts in 2024-25) will make up next season’s senior class from an on-court perspective. Belt drained a team-high 54 treys on the season.
Among freshmen, the Houston native Robbins gained the most experience as she played in 27 games and averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Savi Butterfield and Peyton Tritz also got their feet wet in varsity action.
As the season wound to a close, Olson fulfilled a new role as a member of the national tournament selection committee. Olson collaborated with other members on at-large selections and national tournament seeding. Olson enjoyed peeking behind the curtain, but he didn’t know how to react to not having the chance to prepare his team for a national tournament game. A quiet spring break is a rarity for Concordia Women’s Basketball.
Said Olson, “If we do a couple of those things, the season feels a lot different. It was a great team in terms of great people and selfless people who are awesome to be around. I feel bad that we’re not still playing, because I do think that we’re a good basketball team. We just didn’t come up with enough wins. It’s a tough way to go out because I feel like we deserve better, but we needed to do more things to earn that.”
Looking ahead to next season, the Bulldogs will have some holes to fill in the backcourt as Brigham and Krieser move on to the next chapters of their lives. Olson is always up to a challenge. Olson and assistant coach Tae’lor Purdy-Korell will welcome nine incoming freshmen that played in high school state tournaments. After taking an opportunity to decompress, Concordia will focus on offseason growth with an eye on returning to the national tournament in March of 2026.