No. 1 Hastings College 67, Concordia University 65 (view stats)
The No. 1 Hastings College women’s basketball team escaped Seward with a 67-65 win over Concordia on Wednesday evening. The Broncos improved to 22-3 overall and 12-1 in the GPAC with the win. Concordia slipped to 16-9 overall and 7-7 in the GPAC with the loss.
The Broncos were led by Rachel Isherwood’s 16 points, while Lindsay Ducey added a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Alicia Statler had 10 points, seven boards and seven blocks, and Becky Tesch chipped in with 10 points off the bench for Hastings.
Treva Nutter scored a game-high 19 points for the Bulldogs. Stacy Scheer and TaLisa Krejci added 10 points apiece for Concordia.
The visiting Broncos took control of the contest early on and grabbed a 15-4 lead with less than 14 minutes remaining in the first half. Concordia managed to hang around and used 14 points off Hastings College turnovers to claw back into the game. The Broncos took a 34-28 lead into the halftime break.
Hastings again seized momentum early in the second half. The Broncos scored the first seven points of the half to take a 41-28 lead with 16:45 left in the game. Concordia wouldn’t go away quietly, and the Bulldogs came all the way back to tie the game at 51-51 with eight minutes left in regulation.
The Broncos answered once again with an 8-1 run to take a 59-52 lead with just over six minutes remaining. Concordia again chipped away at the lead, and a layup by Kat Ommen pulled the Bulldogs within one at 65-64 with just over a minute remaining in the contest. Following three missed shots by Hastings College, Scheer was fouled with just 19 seconds to play. Scheer hit one of two foul shots to tie the game at 65-65.
Hastings College called a timeout to set up a final play. With just a few seconds remaining, Rachel Isherwood was fouled while driving to the basket. Isherwood hit both free throws to give the lead back to the Broncos at 67-65. The Bulldogs were unable to get a shot off before the buzzer, and Hastings held on for the dramatic win.
Hastings was 22-of-52 from the floor for 42.3 percent on the night. The Broncos were 5-of-10 from three point land and 18-of-23 at the foul line for 78.3 percent. Hastings held a 41-34 rebounding advantage as well as a 10-0 advantage in fast break points. The Broncos struggled with turnovers and totaled 23 for the game. However, Hastings also totaled eight steals and 10 blocked shots in the contest.
Concordia was 24-of-61 from the field for 39.3 percent. The Bulldogs connected on just 7-of-22 from behind the three point line for 31.8 percent. Free throw shooting also cost Concordia dearly, as the Bulldogs managed to hit just 10-of-20 from the charity stripe in the contest. Concordia had 24 points off Hastings turnovers and held a 28-15 advantage in bench points.
Concordia hosts Dakota Wesleyan University on Feb. 6. The tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Health, Human Performance and Athletic Center.
