SEWARD, Neb. – Coming off the season’s first loss, Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball will look to return to the right tracks against upcoming opponents in Midland and No. 1 Dordt. The Bulldogs split their contests this past week, winning against Doane (89-59) and falling in a tight battle to Dakota Wesleyan (59-56). CUNE is 9-1 overall and 5-1 in conference.
This Week
Wednesday, Dec. 10 vs. Midland (1-9, 1-5 GPAC), 6 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Wikert Event Center (Fremont, Neb.)
Saturday, Dec. 13 vs. No. 1 Dordt (8-1, 4-1 GPAC), 2 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: DeWitt Gymnasium (Sioux Center, IA)
By the numbers
· The defense for Concordia ruled its in-state rivals Doane, converting 41 points off turnovers in the post-Thanksgiving contest. Twelve Bulldogs made a basket, but Abbie Kromarek jumped out front with 15 points late. Sammy Leu’s attack timing came early, with four steals, 11 points, and five assists. CUNE forced 18 first-half turnovers, while sharing the rock for 23 assists to the Tigers’ 9. A whooping stat sheet difference was 41 bench points for the Dawgs to the visitors' 14, displaying the home depth. The treys reigned with 16 total to best Doane in a 30-point win.
· The shots weren’t falling for both teams in the top-15 slugfest versus No. 14 Dakota Wesleyan. The Bulldogs had three game-knotting attempts but were unable to convert in the final seconds. Savannah Butterfield was the only Bulldog to reach double figures (10) but Raelyn Kelty was a couple short of a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds. Leu compiled eight points as well. Both teams shot under 35 percent in the defensive contest as Concordia shot 27.7 percent.
· The stout defense is second in the NAIA averaging 18.4 steals and 30.7 forced turnovers a contest, which ranks 4th in the NAIA stats sheets. If teams are preparing to shoot, the Dawgs have made teams unable to rise clean, blocking 3.8 per contest rated at 42nd. Concordia has seldom given up defensive boards to opponents with 25.6 averaged (fourth in GPAC). Kelty (5.3), Vieselmeyer (4.8) and Robbins (4.3) pace the team in rebounds. Three Bulldogs led in swipes a contest, including Leu (3.0), Roth (1.7), and Gabrielle Wagner (1.7).
· The defense gets much of the deserved credit for steals and forcing turnovers but the offense knows how to protect the rock in a way that only comes by going against a gnats at a picnic defense daily. Concordia gives up the least amount of turnovers (13.2) in the conference and 20th in the nation. The primary on-the-ball handlers have been Ayla Roth, Gabrielle Wagner, Bree Bunting, Sammy Leu and Juliana Jones.
· Vieselmeyer is the scoring leader for the Bulldogs averaging 13.2 points per game. The efficient senior forward makes a high 58.2 field goal percentage, 50.0 percent from three-point range and 73.7 percent from the charity stripe. Averaging 4.8 boards, Vieselmeyer has pulled down 48 total. Coming off her highest point performance on the year, No. 44 has hit double figures seven out of the 10 games.
· The Concordia attack still has a skyscraping 90.8 points a game (6th in NAIA) and shoots 34.2 percent from long range. The Bulldogs are No. 1 in field goals made per game (36.9). The Seward side posts 20.5 assists per game (6th in NAIA). The top dealers are Roth (3.0), Leu (2.6), Gabrielle Wagner (2.4), Jones (1.8), Libby Hoffman (1.6), Vieselmeyer (1.6), and Savannah Butterfield (1.6).
· The countdown for Head Coach Drew Olson begins as the head coach has 493 career wins – already the most in Concordia Athletics history. In his 20th season, Olson six 30+ win seasons and fifteen 20+ wins in a campaign. During his tenure, Olson has directed his teams to a combined 12 GPAC titles (tournament and regular season), 16 national tournament trips and five national semifinal appearances. The 2019-20 (32-2), 2018-19 (35-3), 2017-18 (36-2), 2014-15 (35-3), 2016-17 (34-3) and 2011-12 (34-3) squads each eclipsed the 30-win mark.
· Surging into the top-10 in the newest ranking, Concordia finds itself at No. 9 in the NAIA coaches’ poll from the newest release. Jumping from No. 11 to two spots up, the Bulldogs are behind GPAC foes No.1 Dordt and No. 8 Briar Cliff. No. 14 Dakota Wesleyan moves above two teams in the ratings as well. Hastings and Northwestern are receiving votes in the article from Wednesday (Nov. 26).
Probable Lineup
G – Bree Bunting, 5-9 (10.2)
G – Ayla Roth, 5-9 (9.1)
G – Sammy Leu, 5-10 (10.2)
F – Raelyn Kelty, 5-11 (6.6)
F – Kristin Vieselmeyer, 6-2 (13.1)
The opponents
The Warriors are 1-9 overall and 1-5 in conference play coming off their first win (71-57) over Waldorf. Midland tallies 54.7 points per game and shoots 33.4 percent from the field with 24 percent from three. Averaging 36.1 rebounds per game, the Warriors dish 10.2 assists per game. Jenna Weber paces the Fremont bench with 17.7 points per contest, 1.9 steals and 5.3 rebounds. Ellie Bovaird is the assist leader with 2.9 per 40 minutes. The Warriors allow 74.9 points on 41.6 percent shooting.
Midland Probable Lineup
G – Ellie Bovaird, 5-11 (6.6)
G – Ciera Jorge, 5-3 (6.0)
F – Jenna Weber, 5-9 (17.7)
F – Zoey Sims, 5-8 (5.7)
F – Aiyana Kroll, 6-0 (3.3)
The Defenders started their season in similar fashion to the Bulldogs going 8-0 (4-0 GPAC) but fell in their most recent road test to Doane (73-68) in overtime. The defending national champions average 79.9 points per game and allow 60.1. Led by NAIA All-American Macy Sievers and Gracie Schoonhoven, the two combine for 37.4 points every 40 minutes. Sievers continues to stuff the stat sheet in her career, averaging 9.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 steals. The Defenders crash the boards grabbing 44.4 per contest.
Dordt Probable Lineup
G – Willow Bleeker, 5-9 (8.4)
G – Macy Sievers, 5-8 (16.6)
G – Olivia Harazin, 5-7 (7.3)
G – Gracie Schoonhoven, 5-11 (20.8)
F – Desta Hoogendoorn, 6-0 (9.6)
Next week
The Bulldogs will travel to will travel to the Hawaii Classic over Christmas break. Concordia will face Campbellsville University (Ky.) and Providence University (Mont.) in Honolulu.