SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The patented suffocating press defense imposed its will forcing 15 turnovers in the opening half to ride the double-figure advantage and defeat Morningside, 72-49, on Wednesday (Jan. 7). Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball turned the extra possessions into 26 points with Ayla Roth (16) leading all scorers. The Bulldogs shot 47.6 (30-for-63) percent from the field.
The visitors climbed to 13-3 overall and 8-2 in the GPAC holding strong in second at the top of the conference standings.
“It was really good game by us,” Head Coach Drew Olson said. “I thought we did a good job of handling all the different things that Morningside threw at us. They played man. They played zone. They even mixed it up mid-possession. They pressed us some. We were able to handle all of it fairly well. We had a lot of people step up. It was a good overall team win. Ayla played exceptional. She started off great and made some really big plays in that third and fourth quarter. Our ball pressure was better today and that starts with Sammy, Bree, Joclyn, Abbie and especially Sara. Sara is quiet throughout the game but is always coming up with big shots. She played great defense.”
The Dawgs came out with the guns ablaze, sprinting to a 17-5 upper hand through six turnovers and seven early points by Roth. The Milford High product has notched three consecutive double-figure contests while totaling 55 points in her last three performances.
With the Mustangs cutting the lead to seven (22-15) in the second quarter, Concordia bared down with the full-court press to go on a 9-0 scoring drive that ended with a Makynna Robbins 3-point play. A sophomore out of Houston, Texas, Robbins was efficient with 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
Up 49-30 late in the third, the Bulldogs went on an 8-2 run as Juliana Jones capped the dash with a made three to put the game to bed with a 25-point lead. Jones scored six of her 11 points in the third.
Concordia guarded long range with hawk eyes only, allowing 6.3 (1-for-16) from 3-point land while shooting 30.4 (7-for-23) percent from the perimeter on its own end. The Bulldogs made out like bandits with 16 steals (26 turnovers), led by Gabrielle Wagner (three), Sammy Leu (three), Roth (three), Sara Harley (two) and Libby Hoffman (two).
CUNE owned an edge on the boards with a 40-32 advantage as Kristin Vieselmeyer (seven) and Raelyn Kelty (five) led the Bulldog blue.
Morningside (10-6, 5-5 GPAC) relied on Lily Vollertsen, Clancy Brown and Sam Ehlers with each marking 10 points. Ehlers also brought down seven rebounds and dished out four assists. The Mustangs shot 32.7 percent from the field. Morningside will face Hastings on Saturday at Lynn Farrell Arena.
No. 9 Concordia (13-3, 8-2 GPAC) will come back to Friedrich Arena and host No. 13 Briar Cliff (13-3, 7-3 GPAC) on Saturday. The Bulldogs will tip off at 2 p.m. CT in Seward. The two teams will face off for the first time this season.