SEWARD, Neb. – The victory train kept chugging as the Bulldogs won their sixth-straight with the triumph over Mount Marty, 75-56, on senior day (Feb. 18). Capitalizing on 36 turnovers, the hungry press didn’t make life easy on the upset-minded Lancers in the middle third of the court. JJ Jones drilled 15 points, one shy of matching her career high, to lead the good guys in scoring.
Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball has remained unbeaten in February, reaching a 22-5 overall record and 17-4 in the conference.
“Overall, we played well,” Head Coach Drew Olson said. "We had some spurts offensively that weren’t great. Defensively, we were good throughout the game, especially in the third quarter. We just kind of suffocated them a little bit. A lot of that was a spark by Sara and Libby. It was great to see Gabby and Kristin play really well on senior night. That was pretty cool.”
With a 46-38 advantage, the home team would rattle off 11 consecutive points leaving Mount Marty dazed from the never-ending pressure that seemed to bottleneck outside the arches. Kristin Vieselmeyer (nine points, seven rebounds) spurred on the spurt with back-to-back baskets.
“Everybody played their role to the best of their ability,” Vieselmeyer said. “We worked really hard and played with intensity. Not a lot of teams like that uncomfortability that we cause.”
Prior to the first half buzzer, both squads were knotted at 32, but the veteran-laden Dawgs refused to settle, forcing a 12-2 surge before the break. Jones (four) and Robbins (five) tag-teamed for nine points in the burst. Jones was efficient the entire night with a 5-for-8 shooting clip (4-for-5 FT) while adding four assists and two steals.
Concordia rocked the visiting Lancers with 21 steals, which led to 31 points off turnovers compared to the opposition’s 18. The lead ball hawks were Bree Bunting (three), Leu (three), Wagner (three), Vieselmeyer (two), Sara Harley (two) and Libby Hoffman (two).
On the offensive end, the Bulldogs dropped a 42.4 (28-for-66) percent shooting and 31.4 (11-for-35) percent from deep. Ayla Roth was another Seward player to hit double figures (12), but two were just short in Vieselmeyer and Leu (eight). Wagner matched a game-high five assists.
“We ran the floor well,” Wagner said. "We caused 36 turnovers. Our back line and front line played well. Our defense transitioned into offense.”
Mount Marty (14-13, 9-12 GPAC) was paced by Alexus Motley (15) and Lacey Sprakel (10) in scoring. The Lancers will face College of Saint Mary in their final game of the regular season.
Concordia (22-5, 17-4 GPAC) will face off in a rough and tumble contest versus in-state Hastings (20-7, 16-5 GPAC) at Lynn Farrell Arena on Saturday (Feb. 21). The high octane bout is set to tip off at 2 p.m. CT in Hastings, Neb.
Vieselmeyer added, “I am so grateful for this team. The opportunity that we both have to play four years and live the experience. The joy that Christ has given us and to play for a coach like Coach Olson has been a blessing.”
Wagner commented, “All glory to God. He blessed me with so many great teammates and coaches that believe in us and push us every single game. This is just a steppingstone. We are going to get Hastings now.”