SEWARD, Neb. – Another anticipated season of Concordia University women’s basketball is almost here. The 14th campaign of head coach Drew Olson’s tenure leading the Bulldogs will officially get underway next Friday and Saturday at the College of the Ozarks Classic in Point Lookout, Mo. Prior to that event, Concordia will take on Creighton University in an exhibition game in Omaha on Tuesday night. The contest will be aired live on 104.9 Max Country.
Opening Week
Tuesday, Oct. 22 at Creighton University (Exhibition), 7 p.m.
-Live Stats | 104.9 Max Country | Pre-Game Gathering
College of the Ozarks Classic (Oct. 25-16)
Friday, Oct. Oct. 25 vs. Sterling, 5:30 p.m.
-Live Webcast/Stats
Saturday, Oct. 26 vs. College of the Ozarks/Southeastern University, 1/3 p.m.
-Live Webcast/Stats
The Bulldogs are again the GPAC favorite having garnered 11 first-place votes in the conference preseason poll released on Friday (Oct. 18). Olson welcomes back a veteran and battle-tested squad coming off the program’s first-ever national championship. Seventeen of the 18 players who appeared in varsity action last season are back in the fold. The most acclaimed of the bunch are three-time NAIA All-American Philly Lammers, 2019 national tournament MVP Grace Barry and last season’s leading scorer in Taylor Cockerill.
Olson’s program now gets another shot at an NCAA Division I opponent. Last season Concordia fell by an 80-46 score in an exhibition at South Dakota State University. The Bulldogs quickly learned from that experience on their way to a 35-3 overall record. During Olson’s career, Concordia has beaten an opponent from all levels of collegiate basketball. It defeated the NCAA DI University of Nebraska-Omaha, 68-60, in January 2012. The Bulldogs also edged NCAA DII University of Nebraska-Kearney, 88-87, at the buzzer in November 2008.
“I always want to challenge our kids regardless of when it is,” Olson said. “I want to play against the best. We don’t fear who we play, when we play or where we play them. I just think it’s a great opportunity for our kids to play against a great team. I’m sure Creighton’s going to be ready for us, but I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for our players.”
Concordia will also face a challenging weekend in Missouri while going up against 2019 NAIA national qualifier Sterling College on the first day of the classic. Then on day two, the Bulldogs are guaranteed to face a powerhouse program. They will either have a rematch of the national championship game against Southeastern or take on host College of the Ozarks, which reached the national quarterfinals last season. The last time Concordia played Sterling it defeated the Warriors, 78-54, in the first round of the 2012 national tournament.
Creighton, guided by 17th-year head coach Jim Flanery, has been picked to finish fourth out of 10 teams in the Big East. The Bluejays return three starters and nine letterwinners from a 2018-19 squad that went 15-16 overall. Senior forward Jaylen Agnew averaged 10.4 points and 7.1 rebounds during Big East play. Meanwhile, Sterling is picked to win the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Warriors bring back KCAC Player of the Year Kylah Comley, a junior guard. The national preseason poll will not be released until Wednesday (Oct. 23). In the final ranking of the 2018-19 campaign, Sterling was rated 15th while Southeastern checked in at No. 2 and College of the Ozarks landed at No. 5.
The Bulldogs will make their home debut at the 20th annual Cattle Classic slated for Nov. 1-2. At this year’s event, Concordia will go head-to-head with Simpson University (Calif.) and the University of St. Francis (Ill.).