SEWARD, Neb. – The pressure and quickness of the fifth-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball team led to a runaway from the opening tip in Wednesday (Nov. 20) night GPAC action. The Bulldogs pestered College of Saint Mary into committing 24 turnovers and shooting 37.5 percent from the floor. Thirteen Concordia players appeared for at least 11 minutes (and each scored at least one basket) as part of the 87-53 thumping of the Flames inside Friedrich Arena.
Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad has opened league play at 2-0 (4-1 overall) with both contests having come at home.
“It was a good win. I felt like we did what we needed to do to be better man-to-man pressure,” Olson said. “We started off well and got a good lead. I was really hoping we could get lots of minutes for Makynna (Robbins), Jordan (Ernstmeyer) and Savi (Butterfield). It’s the first time Savi’s played, so that’s an awesome thing. We wanted to conserve some minutes for Kendal (Brigham) and AK (Abby Krieser) because come Saturday, we’re going to need them a little bit more.”
The starting group set the tone early as the Bulldogs grabbed a 29-9 lead by the end of the opening quarter. The tenacity of the likes of Krieser and Brigham in the backcourt made it a chore to simply advance the ball past halfcourt. By halftime, Krieser and Sammy Leu had piled up 11 points apiece. Krieser and Raelyn Kelty burned CSM with three steals each in a suffocating effort.
The large early spread provided ample opportunity for the bench to make an impact. Butterfield and Ernstmeyer both came through with their first collegiate varsity buckets of their careers. As for Robbins, she tallied six points and six rebounds in her most extended run on the court as a freshman. In addition, the hustle of Joclyn Bassett (six points, four rebounds and three steals) stood out. As a team, Concordia owned a 49-31 rebound advantage and shot 44.4 percent (36-for-81) from the floor.
Leu (15), Abby Heemstra (11) and Krieser (11) were the team’s three double-figure scorers. Leu made 7-of-10 shots from the field and snagged five rebounds in only 15 minutes. Also worth noting, Bree Bunting used her length to block five shots and notch five rebounds and two steals. In addition, Kelty put up eight points and Brigham added seven points in an abbreviated evening for the starters. The night concluded with Butterfield, Ernstmeyer and Robbins doing the honor of ringing The Victory Bell.
Said Leu of the positives shown on Wednesday, “We’ve been working through a lot of defenses and running in transition … We did lose a lot of people (from last year’s team), but I feel like we’ve filled their shoes the best we could. We’re just trying to play the best we can.”
CSM (1-4, 0-2 GPAC) has not defeated Concordia since the 2005-06 season. The Flames are attempting to build up their program under the direction of first-year Head Coach Natalie Miller. CSM got a team high 12 points from Haley Debuse on Wednesday.
Conference play will continue on Saturday when the Bulldogs will be in Sioux Center, Iowa, to take on defending national champion and top-ranked Dordt (6-0, 2-0 GPAC). Tipoff is slated for 3:45 p.m. CT from De Witt Gymnasium. The Defenders took three closely contested meetings from Concordia during the 2023-24 season.
Said Olson, “We’re really excited about Saturday. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I know they’re a great team. At their place is always tough.”