Concordia forces 25 turnovers in 80-67 win over Nebraska Wesleyan

Concordia University led from start to finish and snapped a three-game losing streak with an 80-67 women’s basketball win over Nebraska Wesleyan on Wednesday evening in Seward.  It was Senior Night at the HHPAC, as Concordia honored seniors Kat Ommen and Kristin Miller. 

The Bulldogs (now 14-15 overall and 6-11 in GPAC play) raced out to a 10-0 lead in the opening five minutes of the game.  It took Wesleyan (10-14, 6-11 GPAC) almost six minutes to score their first points of the game.  Concordia led by as many as 11 on multiple occasions in the first half and took a 36-26 lead into halftime. 

Concordia built a 15-point lead early in the second half, but Wesleyan didn’t go away.  The visiting Prairie Wolves cut the lead all the way down to three (55-52) with just over nine minutes remaining in the contest.  The Bulldogs answered, however, and used a 12-1 run over the next four minutes to reclaim control of the game at 67-53 with five minutes to play.  The Bulldogs built the lead to 19 on two occasions in the closing minutes and settled for the 80-67 victory.

For the game, Concordia was 30-of-64 from the field for 46.9 percent.  Concordia went 9-of-25 (36 percent) from deep and 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) at the charity stripe.  Wesleyan shot the ball well from the field but struggled with turnovers all evening.  The Prairie Wolves were 22-of-42 (52.4 percent) overall, 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) from behind the arc and 16-of-22 (72.7 percent) at the foul line.  However, Concordia totaled 13 steals and forced 25 Wesleyan turnovers on the night. 

Miller (Jefferson City, Mo.) and Kristen Conahan (Omaha, Neb.) each scored 16 points to lead the way for Concordia offensively.  The duo combined to hit 13-of-18 shots on the night, and Conahan hit four of Concordia’s nine 3-pointers on the evening.  Beth Kohmetscher (Deweese, Neb.) added 12 points off the bench, and Ommen (Jefferson City, Mo.) poured in 11 for the Bulldogs.  Katie Rich (Tilden, Neb.) had a solid game with nine points, a career-high 10 assists and six rebounds.  The Bulldogs totaled 26 assists on their 30 made field goals. 

Shea Rasmussen scored a game-high 23 and added five assists for Nebraska Wesleyan.  Katy Golden scored 13, while Janelle Baal added 10 for the Prairie Wolves. 

Concordia concludes the regular season at Mount Marty College on February 19.