SEWARD, Neb. – The full-court press, length and athleticism of Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball team was on display in its 2025-26 season opener. The Bulldogs overwhelmed visiting Kansas Christian College (Kan.) by the lopsided final of 117-28 inside Friedrich Arena on Saturday (Oct. 25) afternoon. Concordia forced 46 turnovers and 14 players registered in the scoring column for the victors.
Drew Olson’s squad knocked off the offseason rust in what begins the veteran head coach’s 20th season at the helm of the program. The Bulldogs believe they have the pieces to make a leap forward from last season.
“I thought our effort and focus was pretty good. We didn’t let up,” Olson said. “We didn’t press as much, but we were able to do stuff in the halfcourt and work on our halfcourt defense in terms of talking and taking things away. I thought they did a really good job of that.”
Milford High School product Ayla Roth drained a trey for her first career collegiate points in the opening seconds on Saturday and Concordia was well on its way to a thoroughly dominant performance. The 5-foot-9 Roth showcased her array of skills in not only draining shots from the perimeter, but also her with her defensive prowess and playmaking ability in transition. Roth carved the Falcons up for 16 points, five assists and five steals in only 12 minutes of action.
The smothering Bulldogs used the press to pile up 28 first-half turnovers and mount a 63-15 lead at the break. Concordia continued to extend the advantage after halftime despite calling off the press. The length of the Bulldogs led to turnovers, as well as a whopping 26 offensive rebounds (55-37 overall rebound advantage). The leader in that category was Mack Reimer (10 points and eight rebounds), who nearly had a double-double.
Roth and Reimer were joined in double figures in the scoring column by Abbie Kromarek (14), Savi Butterfield (11) and Kristin Vieselmeyer (10). Concordia let it fly from the perimeter in netting 12-of-43 (.279) 3-point attempts. The Bulldogs shot 47.4 percent (45-for-95) overall while coming within 10 points of the school record (127) for a single game. Defensively, 13 Bulldogs pilfered at least one steal. Sammy Lue registered a game-high six thefts while making the start. The rest of the starting group included Bree Bunting (nine points), Raelyn Kelty, Roth and Vieselmeyer.
The Falcons (0-2) lost to a GPAC opponent for the second time in three days. They played with only seven players. Kansas Christian, who calls Overland Park, Kan., home, was held to 21.8 percent (12-for-55) shooting from the floor.
As Olson mentioned postgame, Concordia has another level it can reach from a pressing standpoint. The Bulldogs will use this as a starting point. Said Olson, “We didn’t display a whole lot with the press, but the effort was there. We were crashing the glass. We played hard, and that’s the main thing. That’s the takeaway from day. We’ll obviously continue to get better, learn and grow.”
The first road test of the 2025-26 season will come on Tuesday when the Bulldogs will be at Graceland University for a 1 p.m. CT tipoff in Lamoni, Iowa. The contest will mark the season opener for the Yellowjackets, who finished the 2024-25 season at 8-20 overall.