The seventh-ranked Concordia women’s basketball team unveiled a new-look starting lineup complete with three freshmen and two juniors in Saturday’s NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Game of the Week. With the Bulldog backcourt tandem of Kristen Conahan and Bailey Morris on the mend, No. 2 Northwestern (17-0, 9-0 GPAC) rolled up an 86-68 victory at the Bultman Center in Orange City, Iowa.
The top-ranked Bulldogs were greeted by a hyper-charged atmosphere inside Lynn Farrell Arena on Wednesday (Jan. 8) when they fell at the hands of No. 4 Hastings, 66-59. Grace Barry had 17 points to lead Concordia.
Riley Sibbel totaled a combined 41 points as the top-ranked Bulldogs defeated both No. 12 Northwestern and No. 6 Dordt last week. Sibbel's 26 points versus Dordt represented a new career high for the GPAC Player of the Week.
Concordia and Hastings will meet as top-five ranked squads for the first time since 2003 in a big-time battle on Wednesday. Both teams are 9-0 in conference play. The Bulldogs will then return home to host Jamestown on Saturday.
Senior Riley Sibbel came through with a career high 26 points and the top-ranked Concordia women's basketball team stifled No. 6 Dordt in a 69-55 win inside Walz Arena on Saturday (Jan. 4).
The top-ranked Bulldogs began a critical three-game stretch of top 12 opponents by toppling No. 12 Northwestern, 97-81, on Thursday (Jan. 2). Grace Barry (18) and Philly Lammers (17) led Concordia in scoring.
It's back to GPAC action for the top-ranked Bulldogs, who remain undefeated in conference play (7-0). Concordia has two matchups with ranked opponents this week: Northwestern and Dordt.
Millard West High School products Taylor Farrell (team high 18 points) and Philly Lammers (12 points, 12 rebounds) starred while leading top-ranked Concordia to a bounce back win on Saturday (Dec. 21).
The program's 23-game win streak went by the wayside at No. 2 Southeastern on Friday (Dec. 20). Top-ranked Concordia had beaten the Fire three times since the start of the 2018-19 season.
A triple-double in the win at No. 7 Morningside helped lead to Grace Barry earning the GPAC Player of the Week award, as announced on Dec. 17. Barry ranks in the top 10 nationally in steals and assists per game.
Mackenzie Koepke had played in 102 of a possible 103 games over her first three seasons. After missing the 2021-22 season due to injury, the Lincoln Lutheran alum, a link back to the national championship team, is determined to go out on her own terms.
Just a few weeks after playing the 123rd and final game of her collegiate career, Rylee Pauli reflected on four years of Concordia Women's Basketball. There were ups, downs, unique experiences and incredible highs.
Led by do-it-all guard Taysha Rushton and relentless senior Rylee Pauli, the 2021-22 Bulldogs extended the program's national tournament streak while beating five teams that qualified for nationals throughout the season.
Four starters, including First Team All-GPAC star Taysha Rushton, return for a Concordia Women's Basketball program coming off an appearance in the NAIA national quarterfinals last season. Depth will be a strength.
Taylor Cockerill and Taysha Rushton were the ringleaders for a squad that reached the NAIA national quarterfinals while playing an exciting brand of hoops in 2020-21.
For Concordia Women's Basketball, tradition never graduates. That's become evident in 2020-21, even as the program 'rebuilt' following the graduation of several stars.
In season No. 15 as head coach, Drew Olson has reached the 400-win milestone. As his current and former players will attest, Concordia Women's Basketball is about more than winning.
From October 2011 through December 2020, Concordia Women's Basketball was included in every possible NAIA top 25 ranking, a run of 97-straight poll appearances.
It's a new-look Concordia Women's Basketball team, but the program is determined to prove it's still a major force in the GPAC and nationally. Taylor Cockerill and Mackenzie Koepke are the headlining returners.
Don't forget about TC. The leading scorer for the 2018-19 national championship team, Taylor Cockerill is roughly 90 percent of the way back from the knee injury she suffered last October.