FOREST CITY, Iowa. – Concordia University, Nebraska seized control early with a 21-0 run in the opening quarter to dash all hopes of Waldorf, 111-43, on Saturday (Jan. 31) afternoon. The Bulldog blue felt at home in Hanson Fieldhouse, shooting 51.2 percent from the floor in the game. Going deep into the bench, the Dawgs had all 15 players score in the contest.
Head Coach Drew Olson and the visitors added another win to their now 17-5 overall record and 12-4 GPAC mark.
“I thought our effort was really good, especially our second wave” Coach Olson said. “In the first quarter, they did a good job of sparking our team. We went on a really good run. We scored on 14 out of 15 possessions in a row. Then, at the end of the game, our other group did an awesome job competing, getting rebounds and then getting it out on the run. It’s important to get them (starters) as much rest as possible. That’s why this is a great team. They all get it. They are all selfless. They understand to take their opportunities when they get it, and they are doing that.”
In the 21-point game-opening surge, Concordia’s first five did the majority of the damage with multiple buckets coming from Sammy Leu and Raelyn Kelty to jump ahead, 37-10. Taking multiple possessions from the home team, Bree Bunting (four) and Leu (two) attacked the Warriors like a school of piranhas, leading to 10 steals by the Bulldogs in the first frame. Bunting, a junior out of Kersey, Colo., was dealing in the hot stanza with five assists as Kristin Vieselmeyer notched all her 10 points in the initial two frames.
After red-hot shooting 62.5 (15-for-24) in the first, Concordia cooled off (38.9 percent) in the second but continued to wreak havoc on the defensive end with nine of the full 34 forced turnovers (26 steals). Coming out of the locker rooms with a sizeable advantage (59-21), JJ Jones spurred on the Dawg offense with seven points in a perfect (3-for-3) third quarter. Bench players Jenna Leubbe, Ona Stutzman (seven points) and Mack Reimer finished out the 68-point margin win with style.
The Bulldogs had five reach double figures including the likes of Jones (14), Abbie Kromarek (13), Leu (11), Makynna Robbins (10) and Vieselmeyer. Similar to scoring, every Concordia player pulled down a rebound, totaling 48. Vieselmeyer (six), Robbins (six), and Kromarek (six) paced the squad in the rebound category. Averaging 18.5 assists per contest, the Bulldogs shelled out 27 with Bunting (six), Joclyn Bassett (four), Leu (three) and Gabrielle Wagner (three) leading the way.
Waldorf (2-21, 1-16 GPAC) was led by Cloey Dmytruk, who scored a game-high 17 points, pulling down five rebounds. The Warriors shot 30.2 (16-for-53) percent from the floor and 17.6 (3-for-17) from three. They will face Hastings on Saturday.
Concordia will be back on the road with the shortest drive coming on Wednesday at Doane (10-11, 8-9 GPAC). The tip will start at 6 p.m. CT inside the Haddix Center. The Bulldogs took round one in Seward, defeating the Tigers, 89-59.