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).
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.
Women's Basketball
Women's Basketball
Women's Basketball
