SEWARD, Neb. – The Bulldogs used 24 free throws to whip back Hastings, 83-77, in an intense physical battle from start to finish on Wednesday (Jan. 14). The contest tied on 11 separate occasions as Concordia University, Nebraska leaned on Kristin Vieselmeyer and Raelyn Kelty’s combined perfection from the charity stripe. Gabrielle Wagner was the spark off the bench scoring a career high 13 points.
Head Coach Drew Olson has one more win to go as he has 499 in his time with the Bulldogs and the 2025-26 squad is 15-3 overall (10-2 GPAC).
“It was fun,” Coach Olson said. “It was a lot of fun. Two great teams. It was awesome to watch. The pace was incredible. The shot-making was there. They did a great job taking the lead in the third. Our players stepped up and hit some big shots. Kristin hit a three and Ayla hit a three that was kind of a big dagger. Gabby was awesome. She was the key to this game. She made some big shots early. The last minute she had about three 50-50 balls that she came up with. Huge plays to keep the ball and kind of seal the game.”
Up one in the fourth quarter, the Dawgs went on a 9-4 back-breaking drive of the Broncos. Ayla Roth (nine points) sunk back-to-back treys with Wagner and Bree Bunting set to deliver the finishing free throws as the cherry on top.
The Broncos came out of the gates with a blistering defensive pace striping the Bulldogs of the rock six times in virtually the first three minutes. The home squad matched the intensity of the contest, which had 41 combined turnovers by the final buzzer.
At the 1:08 mark left in the third, Hastings had built its biggest lead of the night (64-58). Concordia made three form long range, including two from Wagner and one from Vieselmeyer, to jump ahead after an 11-2 run. A Sioux City, Iowa, product, Wagner (five rebounds) sprinkled four treys throughout the 40 minutes to keep Concordia in striking distance.
“I think just because we play so hard in practice,” Wagner said. “We push each other for big games like this. We know it comes down to possessions. Mostly, the intensity of the bench helped us get into the zone. I am a faithful person, so I prayed a lot today, and I had a lot of people praying for me. Today, I felt like he had me and I just let it fly. Coach has confidence in me and my teammates are pushing me. They say I can shoot and I know I can shoot.”
Hastings’ aggressiveness started to bite them from the Concordia free throw line. The Seward roster licked their chops from the charity stripe shooting 82.8 (24-for-29) percent with Vieselmeyer (9-for-9) and Kelty (6-for-6) doing the majority of the damage. Roth (three), Makynna Robbins (two) and Bunting (two) made multiple as well.
Both squads were held just under 40 percent shooting with the Bulldogs landing at 38.1 (24-for-63) percent to the Broncos’ 39.5 (30-for-76) percent. Kelty stuffed the stat sheet throughout with a double-double in 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Vieselmeyer steadied the home whites with 18 points and seven rebounds. Sammy Leu added multiple figures including 10 points, three rebounds and three assists. Robbins had eight points and seven rebounds.
Hastings (12-6, 8-4 GPAC) was led in scoring by Mariyah Avila (18), Bailey Kissinger (17) and McKenna Yates (12).
Concordia (14-3, 9-2 GPAC) will make a stop at the Corn Palace to take on Dakota Wesleyan (15-3, 10-2 GPAC) for a chance to seize sole possession of second place in the conference standings. The Bulldogs will tip-off at 2 p.m. CT in Mitchell.