YANKTON, S.D. – The top-ranked Concordia University women’s basketball team went just 7-for-32 from 3-point range on Saturday (Dec. 14) afternoon, but it packed its usual tenacious defense on the road. The Bulldogs forced 43 turnovers while handling host Mount Marty, 80-50, inside Laddie E. Cimpl Arena in Yankton, S.D. Philly Lammers helped fuel the victory with 21 points and seven rebounds.
Head coach Drew Olson’s program has won 23-straight games and is unbeaten at 11-0 (7-0 GPAC) on the season.
“That’s something we talk about is there are going to be some days where we struggle and don’t shoot the ball as well,” Olson said. “We have to make sure our defense is there every single night. Our kids come to play hard and they fly around and cause a lot of havoc. Thankfully that was able to generate points for us when we were struggling in the half court.”
This turned into a workmanlike road performance for Concordia, which battled through its early shooting struggles to make this one a runaway. The key stretch came in the second quarter when Grace Barry spurred a 20-5 surge to close the first half. The Bulldogs led 39-21 at that point. For Mount Marty, there was no overcoming its minus-34 turnover margin. The takeaways allowed Concordia to fire off 47 more shots than the Lancers (6-5, 2-5 GPAC).
Lammers and company put the foot on the accelerator in the fourth quarter when they found an offensive groove. They outscored Mount Marty 25-13 in the final stanza that included one particularly nifty post move and finish from Lammers. The duo of Philly and Grace has been dynamic. Barry carried the team offensively during parts of the first half and finished with 15 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the floor.
“She was definitely a bright spot for us,” Olson said of Lammers. “I just liked her attack better today. She didn’t fade from the basket. She went after it and got layups. She had a really good game.”
The bench was highly involved in the action once again. Taylor Farrell put up nine points while knocking down a pair of treys. Meanwhile, Elsie Alsesen and Rylee Pauli both contributed six points and four rebounds. Pauli added five steals while defensive pest Riley Sibbel plucked four thefts. The Bulldogs outnumbered the Lancers in bench scoring, 35-15.
Mount Marty shot a very respectable 47.4 percent (18-for-38) from the floor, but just didn’t get enough shots due to the turnovers (three Lancer players had eight or more turnovers). Kayla Jacobson (3-for-3 from beyond the arc) notched 12 points and was the lone Lancer in double figures. Mount Marty has dropped each of the last seven meetings with Concordia.
Warmer weather is on the horizon for the Bulldogs, who now look forward to the Southeastern University Classic (Dec. 20-21) in Lakeland, Fla. On the opening day of the event, Concordia will take on host and second-ranked Southeastern (10-2) in another rematch of last season’s national championship game. Earlier this season, the Bulldog eked past the Fire, 63-62, in overtime in Point Lookout, Mo., on Oct. 26.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” Olson said. “We want to challenge our kids and we knew Southeastern was going to be really good again this year. We’ll definitely enjoy some time on the beach and some other activities.”