No. 7 Briar Cliff University 77, Concordia University 52 (view stats)
Briar Cliff pulled away for an easy 77-52 win over Concordia in GPAC women’s basketball on Saturday afternoon in Seward. The Chargers improved to 19-3 overall and 8-2 in the GPAC with the win. The loss dropped Concordia to 14-7 overall and 7-5 in conference play.
It was a struggle offensively for the Bulldogs throughout the game. Concordia struggled mightily with Briar Cliff’s pressure defense. In the first half, the Bulldogs connected on just 7-of-31 shots from the field and 1-of-10 tries from three point land. Briar Cliff scored 16 points off turnovers in the first 20 minutes and took a 36-20 lead into halftime.
The offensive struggles continued for Concordia in the second half, and Briar Cliff slowly pulled away for the lopsided win. BCU added 18 more points off Concordia turnovers and led by as many as 30 in the final half.
For the game, Concordia was just 16-of-59 from the field for 27.1 percent. The Bulldogs accumulated 31 turnovers and allowed 34 points off of those turnovers in the loss. Concordia was 4-of-20 from behind the three point line and 16-of-26 from the foul line.
Briar Cliff hit 23-of-55 shots in the game for 41.8 percent. The Chargers were 7-of-14 from three point land and 24-of-28 at the free throw line. Briar Cliff had 27 turnovers on the day, but allowed just 19 points off of those turnovers.
Four players scored in double figures in a balanced offensive attack for Briar Cliff. Morgan Brown and Liz Grider each scored 17 points to lead the way for BCU. Grider, the leading scorer in the conference, also added nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. Megan Salcedo added 12 points, and Kylie Dilla scored 10 off the bench for Briar Cliff.
Treva Nutter scored 11 points to go along with six rebounds for Concordia in the loss. TaLisa Krejci added eight points and three assists, and Kristin Miller grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Concordia travels to Doane College on Jan. 27 for a 6 p.m. GPAC contest.