SEWARD, Neb. – The Bulldogs hosted their final home game in 2023 against the University of Jamestown on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 2). Both teams came out with ice cold shooting (7-30 FG). Still, the Jimmies mounted a double digit lead before the break, leaving Concordia to climb out of a 14 point deficit after the break. Tying the game midway through the fourth quarter, the Jimmies responded, keeping the home team down late in the conference bout, 71-61. Three different players in the Bulldog Blue ended with 11 points, including Taysha Rushton, Abby Krieser and Kristin Vieselmeyer.
Dropping their first game in the season puts the Bulldogs overall record at 6-1 and 4-1 in the conference. Head Coach Drew Olson commented on the difference in play between the two halves and what they will do to get better.
“The difference was, in the second half, we fought a lot harder. We showed more toughness, were able to get stops and get more in transition. I feel like we ran out of gas in the fourth quarter but we had to expend so much energy to get back into the game. I probably should have utilized our bench a lot more. We got a lot to learn and we have some good practices coming forward. We will be better”
Down 36-22 at the half, the Bulldogs only gained one point on the Jimmies after the first six minutes of play. With 3:10 left in the third, Mackenzie Toomey started a 10-3 scoring drive with a make from long range. Toomey garnered nine points on 3-of-4 shooting in Friedrich Arena.
Krieser followed Toomey with a layup, scoring five of her 11 points in the third period, as Vieselmeyer ended the half with a bottomed three ball. Vieselmeyer matched her second highest total of the season (11) on 40 percent shooting (4-10 FG) and collected four rebounds off the rack.
Entering the fourth, Rushton drew fouls in the paint, scoring four points from the charity stripe in the 10-2 game tying run. Knotted at 55 apiece, Rushton found ways to feed the ball to her teammates sealing a team high five assists. In the drive, Sadie Powell provided one of her five game high steals, while also adding 10 points on the night.
With 6:03 to play, the Jimmies outscored the Bulldogs 16-6 in the final minutes, with the home team tiring out from the second half comeback.
Concordia (6-1, 4-1 GPAC) will be on the road for five straight games, starting with Mount Marty (3-6, 1-4 GPAC) on Wednesday (Dec. 6). Tip off is set for 6 p.m. CT inside Cimpl Arena. The Bulldogs swept the Lancers in both matchups last season.