Thirteen teams have played their season and only eight remain for the 2024 GPAC Tournament which starts Wednesday (Feb. 28). The Concordia Women’s Basketball team came out of their last two games on top, plowing past Hastings (82-55) and Midland (80-50) in dominant fashion.
The Concordia Women’s Basketball team collected its 23rd triumph of the 2023-24 campaign, breaking into a double digit lead (12) by halftime and finishing over Midland (80-50).
The senior class is one that has persevered while shaping the 2023-24 squad into an elite one. Student-athletes like Kendal Brigham came to Concordia because it offered a close-knit community. They found that and much more.
Mackenzie Toomey enjoyed the best statistical game of her career and a hot third quarter for the seventh-ranked Bulldogs made for an 82-55 runaway victory over Hastings on Wednesday (Feb. 21).
Concordia enters its final week of the regular season but is done with travel as both Hastings and Midland will be hosted in Seward, Neb. for the final two games. On Saturday (Feb. 24), the seniors of the Concordia University Women’s Basketball team will be honored for their final year as a Bulldog.
The No. 7 Bulldogs were down nine to the No. 1 Defenders at the break and a 17-point deficit continuing into the third quarter. Concordia would respond with grit and toughness in a hostile DeWitt Gymnasium, cutting the lead down to one possession but came just short, 81-78.
In recent years, the Bulldogs have not had an easy time of it at the Haddix Center. No. 7 Concordia erased a 12-point halftime deficit and edged Doane, 74-72, on Wednesday (Feb. 14) with the help of 18 points from Abby Krieser.
The mix at the top of the conference has gotten murky, as Concordia continues a three game road stretch with Doane on Wednesday and Dordt on Saturday (Feb. 17).
Super Bowl Sunday hosted a top conference matchup between Concordia at Dakota Wesleyan in the World’s Only Corn Palace. After seizing the lead for the first time midway through the third quarter, the Bulldogs were trampled by a 15-0 Tigers run that ended with an 83-75 loss for the visitors.
The Bulldogs seemed to be on an NBA type schedule, playing a game every other day in the last six days. The team finished the stretch against common conference opponent College of Saint Mary on Wednesday night (Feb. 7).
A prep star in both basketball and softball, Abby Krieser eventually made basketball her college choice. She hasn't looked back while developing into an all-around player and leader for Coach Olson's program.
When Concordia upset No. 5 Marian in the second game of the 2023-24 season, it signaled that the 2023-24 Bulldogs meant business. Led by a special senior class, Concordia showed it could compete with anyone in the NAIA.
For the first time in school history, Concordia University, Nebraska will play host to NAIA basketball national tournament games. Concordia has been named a host site for first/second round NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship play.
The senior class is one that has persevered while shaping the 2023-24 squad into an elite one. Student-athletes like Kendal Brigham came to Concordia because it offered a close-knit community. They found that and much more.
Confetti, cupcakes and the whole family greeted Drew Olson in the locker room following Wednesday’s win over Morningside. The victory marked another feather in the cap for Olson, the winningest coach in Concordia Athletics history.
It's been three-and-a-half quick years since Taysha Rushton made her college decision official. Any reservations the Texan had about spending her college days in Nebraska subsided through close friendships and a love for basketball.
The top eight scorers, including all five starters, return from last season's national tournament team. The roster makeup gives Coach Drew Olson his most experienced group since 2019-20. The aim is to get back to Sioux City in March.
Eight years since she last starred for the Bulldogs, Bailey Morris continues to be characterized by competition and a love for the game. Says Morris of her Concordia years: "Those are some good memories for me. Those things have carried with me over the last eight years."
The 2022-23 season was one of growth for a Bulldog squad led by Taysha Rushton and a strong nucleus of third-year players. Coach Drew Olson's squad came together down the stretch for a win at No. 19 Jamestown and a national tournament blowout of Columbia.
Last season's Bulldog squad navigated the most challenging schedule in the NAIA and managed to reach the national tournament. Taysha Rushton leads a 2022-23 team that believes it's grown since the end of the 2021-22 campaign.