By Sam Firminhac, Athletic Communications
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The ninth-ranked Concordia University Women's Basketball team battled back from a 14-point deficit late in the fourth quarter but ultimately was unable to complete the comeback on Saturday (Nov. 13) night. The Bulldogs fell to Briar Cliff, 74-68, dropping their first conference game of the young season. Concordia cut the defict to six multiple times in the second half, however, the Chargers mounted a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and held off the visitors.
Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad fell to 2-2 overall (0-1 GPAC) with the loss. Olson thought that his team had opportunities to turn the tide of the game, but could not capitalize.
Said Olson, “Briar Cliff shot incredible in the first half. I thought we had a few players really compete hard to keep us in the game. We had chances in the second half but just never capitalized. A lot of missed opportunities in transition and too many missed free throws. Briar Cliff is a good team and tough to beat on the road. We need to get better.”
Taysha Rushton led Concordia in scoring with 16 points and added three rebounds and three assists. Taylor Farrell was the only other Bulldog to reach double figures in the loss, accumulating 10 points in the contest. Farrell also went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Kayla Luebbe made 4-of-5 shots from the field, scoring nine points in the process. Rylee Pauli did her best cleaning up rebounds, leading the team with six. Briar Cliff owned a slight edge in rebounds, 27-24.
For the Chargers, they climb to 3-2 overall (1-0 GPAC). They had three different players reach double figures on Saturday. Madelyn Deitchler led all scorers with 20 points and was two rebounds shy of a double-double. She also went 7-for-8 from the field. Cadence Davis tossed in 17 herself and Elaina Martinez had 10 points. Their efforts helped Briar Cliff overcome a minus-eight turnover margin.
Last season, Concordia regrouped after dropping its GPAC opener and went on to go 17-5 in conference play, placing second in the GPAC standings.
The Bulldogs will return to Fredrich Arena for their first home conference matchup of the year on Wednesday night. Concordia will welcome Midland (3-1, 0-0 GPAC) to town for a 6 p.m. CT tipoff. The two sides split last season’s two meetings with the road team winning in both instances.