That look of frustration on the faces of their opponents is taken as the ultimate compliment. These Bulldogs seek to be as annoying as possible, in all the best ways. As the Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball program began to shape its identity for the 2025-26 season, Head Coach Drew Olson crafted the theme of ‘Press.’ It has a basketball meaning, of course, with the purpose of focusing the team’s collective energy on the processes that have made this season a success.
Yes, this is more like it. There was an emptiness felt this time a year ago when a GPAC quarterfinal defeat signaled an abrupt conclusion. This is a program used to finishing seasons at the Tyson Events Center deep into the month of March.
“Our identity and how this team was formed has a lot to do with last year and the growing pains that we went through,” Olson said. “I wanted to set a tone of aggressiveness and confidence (in the offseason). We knew we wanted to get back to a pressing style, something that was really affective for us in years past. I felt like we had the personnel to be better in our press this year. We wanted to establish a confidence about our group.”
The emphasis on being “annoying,” as described by junior guard Sammy Leu has paid off in ways that have shown up in tangible results. The Bulldogs have flown past the 20-win mark while boasting national rankings of third in steals per game (16.8) and fourth in turnovers forced per game (27.0). The press has been turned up several notches behind chief backcourt pests in Leu and Bree Bunting. The comparison to gnats at a picnic is an apt descriptor.
At their highest levels of annoyance, they come after opponents like locusts, rather than gnats. Impressively, seven players who have appeared in every contest this season average more than a steal per game. The asphyxiation of the opposition begins with Bunting, Leu and their backcourt mates and extends into a second line (Ayla Roth and Raelyn Kelty in the starting five) and then into the halfcourt with the zone defense Concordia has employed in 2025-26. Olson teams of years past have operated in different ways schematically, but the elite ones yield similar results. The 2018-19 national championship team forced a staggering 1,119 turnovers for the year (29.4 per game).
The current team is carving out its own place in history as it presses on into the postseason. Said senior Kristin Vieselmeyer of the team’s theme, “I think it resembles our team, pushing through adversity and being able to be the team we want to be and pressuring teams, making them uncomfortable. That’s the type of style we like to play at Concordia. Press means grit in my brain. We want to push past the goals that we’ve set and exceed expectations.”
One of only two seniors on the roster, Vieselmeyer has played a major leadership role and has been described as the “team mom.” The offseason conversations led by Olson and Vieselmeyer were sometimes hard hitting and set a standard for accountability and work ethic. Those conversations stick with Bunting as she discussed the team’s growth at the conclusion of the ’25-26 regular season.
If the group of veteran players had to go through the rash of close losses it endured throughout 2024-25, they were going to learn something from them. As this past preseason arrived, the Bulldogs began to believe in the talent and the makeup of the players in the locker room.
Said Bunting, a junior from Kersey, Colo., “I think it all started with our leadership. We had Olson and Kristin ingraining in us – that is not our team. We expect more from our team. Each and every one of us needs to step up our game. I felt like going into the summer we needed to put our heads down and grind and expect more from ourselves. I think when we came back together, it was like ‘whoa, we can really be something great if we work together and use everyone’s skills.’”
Added the Wahoo High School product Leu, “Obviously our word is ‘press.’ Over the summer, we emphasized being annoying to other teams and causing a lot of chaos because we do have a lot of length and a lot of depth. We have a lot of things that allow us to keep the pressure up the entire game.”
The proof manifests on game days, but an early indicator of what this team was made of came in the preseason. Concordia outplayed a highly ranked opponent in a scrimmage, laying the groundwork for what was to come. The Bulldogs were beginning the season off the national radar, but it wouldn’t be long before they would have everyone’s attention.
Back in the summer, members of the team wore shirts displaying the words ‘Out-Dawg you.’ It served as a reminder of the type of mindset Concordia would need to return to an elite stature.
“It was really a mentality that we’re going to be tough and we’re going to fight,” Olson said. “Our group has done a great job of embracing all of that, but the reason why we’re having the success that we are is because we have a group that has grown up and a group that worked really hard this past summer to develop their games. That junior class with Sammy, Bree, Rae and JJ (Jones) have made significant improvements. The addition of Ayla was a huge impact to our team with what she brings to our group. It’s a group that’s really selfless.”
Anyone needing an example of what it means to show toughness and fight got it when observing Sioux City, Iowa, native Gabrielle Wagner. Three major knee injuries (one each in three successive basketball seasons) failed to deter Wagner. When the third ACL tear happened prior to Wagner’s sophomore season at Concordia, Olson couldn’t help but think it was the end of her basketball career.
Not so fast. Wagner’s faith carried her through the stem cell injections and eventual ACL reconstruction surgery. Wagner made a full recovery and played on the junior varsity as a junior. A year later, she regained the quickness and lateral movement required to play at the varsity level in the Bulldogs’ frenetic system. Vieselmeyer even singled out Wagner as someone who was “kicking butt” in the preseason.
Wagner cited the Bible verse James 1:2-3 in explaining her decision to press on, “Throughout this entire journey, I have had to rely fully on God to guide and heal me, not only physically, but spiritually. He reshaped my identity and reminded me of who I am apart from sports and who I ultimately belong to. At the end of the day, I have loved basketball since I was a young girl. It has always brought me so much joy to compete. What motivated me to keep playing was never forgetting what God had placed in my life, which are the opportunities He gave me. Simply having the opportunity to still play was enough reason for me to continue pursuing it.”
Wagner has added toughness to a rotation that frequently goes 10 or more players deep. It’s the Olson way – when one wave of five begins to tire, hit the opposition with a line change of fresh, hungry locusts. The balance of the roster is exemplified in the scoring column, which shows six players averaging in the range of 7.5 to 11.5 points per game. In a given game, there may be seven or eight candidates capable of leading the team in scoring. In the GPAC quarterfinals, it was Kelty’s turn to go off. She sizzled with a career-high 23 points on the strength of 7-for-9 perimeter shooting.
Such team dynamics likely won’t lend to any single player reeling in truckloads of accolades, and that’s okay with this mature group.
“I feel like everybody is playing for each other in Christ,” Vieselmeyer said. “We’re not playing for accomplishments. Nobody needs to be the star. It takes everyone on the team to be successful. Everyone is bought into that idea that it takes a village to reach the goals we want to reach. Everyone has accepted their role and is following the culture that we have.”
When a team is filled with players who embody that type of attitude, the results tend to take care of themselves. The results were impressive from the start as the Bulldogs jetted to 9-0 out of the gate. They made waves at the Cattle Classic when they blew out both 18th-ranked Arizona Christian and 13th-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.). There was no doubt. This season was going to be different – or shall we say, more like the norm when it comes to Concordia Women’s Basketball.
What makes this particular journey especially rewarding is how the upperclassmen worked together, along with the younger players, to find solutions while forming a distinct winning identity. Bunting says it’s clear she and Leu have grown closer together as they perform similar roles in the press. A mutual respect and togetherness permeates the entire roster.
“I think the most fun part is how hard we work for one another,” Bunting said. “I love every single one of these girls and I know that they would work until their legs are absolutely dead for us. I love that about us. I also think we have a lot of players on the team who show incredible selflessness and want to put the team first beyond their own desires. I love playing with these girls and these people because of their attitudes and efforts.”
Said Leu, “I think the most exciting thing is doing it with the team that we have and being able to get to the GPAC tournament and get back to nationals and get back to what we know we can accomplish.”
For so many reasons, Vieselmeyer wishes her final season would hold up a moment. If she has anything to say about it, this journey has many memorable moments yet to come.
Said Vieselmeyer, “I’m trying to slow down, soak in all the moments and appreciate every opportunity I get to step onto the floor and have conversations with coaches or small talk with teammates at practice. We have a long road still – in my brain. I’m going to keep saying it’s a long road. I’m trying to focus on each game, one at a time, and make sure I’m the best person I can be for my teammates. It’s definitely flying by quick, and senior night made it a huge reality. I’m super thankful and blessed to have this opportunity. I’m making sure each moment is cherished.”
As March beckons, the Bulldogs press on towards the ultimate goal, which is not what one might think – like winning a national championship (of course that would be a blast!). As Olson mentioned during his preseason remarks, “The ultimate prize is Christ.”
Months later, Olson can take satisfaction in knowing that this team gets it. Said Olson, “The theme and the mentality have helped, but it’s really the players doing the work and having that selfless attitude and being really good people who care about each other.”