Bulldogs pile up 109 points to earn fifth-straight victory

SEWARD, Neb. – Seventh-ranked Concordia exploded out of the gates with a 17-0 lead on the way to a 109-86 rout of visiting Mount Marty (4-7, 0-6 GPAC) on Saturday. The Bulldogs earned their fifth-straight win and completed a three-games-in-four-days stretch in which they won by an average margin of 30.7 points. Eighth-year head coach Drew Olson’s squad bumped its records to 11-2 overall and 6-1 in the GPAC.

“We wanted the pace to be really fast and it was,” Olson said. “We were really fast. We played great offensively. We had a really good rhythm and flow.”

Concordia enjoyed a double digit lead for 38:11 of game time in another dominant victory. Senior Kristen Conahan’s 3-pointer less than two minutes into the contest gave the Bulldogs a 12-0 lead and the Lancers would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way. Mount Marty did not register its first field goal until the 15:17 mark when Kieran O’Malley connected on a trey.

The feisty Bulldog full-court pressure was relentless once again. Tracy Peitz and company forced five 10-second violations in the first 11 minutes of the opening half and Peitz at one point stuffed three-straight inbounds passes. Concordia used that pressure to pester the Lancers to the tune of 22 turnovers and a 28-4 advantage in points off turnovers.

Conahan and junior guards Bailey Morris and Tracy Peitz were the catalysts in leading the Bulldogs to their first 100-point output of the season and first since a 110-65 home win over Midland last season. The Conahan-Morris duo went on a scoring rampage in the latter stages of the first half as Concordia led 62-40 at the break.

Both Conahan and Morris energized the crowd by knifing past defenders for nifty layups and then stepping back for treys when the defense sagged back. Conahan led all scorers with 22 points while Morris finished with 15. Both played 21 minutes.

Peitz totaled 13 points, a career high seven assists, four rebounds and four steals for yet another impressive line. Fellow junior Jericca Pearson was nearly unstoppable when she touched the ball inside. She posted 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting.

“When they’re open I like to get it to them,” Peitz said. “We have great teammates and we all trust each other. They can all put the ball in the hole just as well as anyone else.”

A 31-point second half lead allowed Olson to empty the bench.

“We’ve been able to do that the last few games and get some other kids some experience,” Olson said. “Some of them are feeling a little bit more confident and a little more comfortable playing our style against GPAC opponents.”

Of the 15 players who saw action, 14 chipped in with at least one field goal. Concordia junior Rachel Royuk put a bow on the victory with a 3-pointer from the left wing in the final minute to close out all scoring by the Bulldogs.

The Lancers got 21 points from Logan Wagner. O’Malley tallied 17 buoyed by five treys.

When Mount Marty was able to settle into its half-court offense it had a degree of success, knocking down 11 3-pointers while shooting 19-for-24 from the free throw line. They just could not keep up with a Bulldog offense that lit up the scoreboard by shooting 56.4 percent from the field.

“This game especially, we worked really well together,” Peitz said. “I think that will continue. We’ll have a lot of practices next week. Dakota Wesleyan is a good team and I’m excited for it.”

The Bulldogs will play once more before Christmas. They have nearly a week off before hosting Dakota Wesleyan (9-2, 4-1 GPAC) on Friday, Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. The Tigers, who are receiving votes in the national poll, defeated Doane 65-59 on Saturday evening.