SEWARD, Neb. – A back-and-forth battle ended with the first home win for the Bulldogs, who defeated No. 3 Dakota State University (S.D.), 64-54, in a top-10 clash on Saturday (Nov. 7). Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball hounded the Trojans, forcing 31 turnovers in the double-digit victory. Makynna Robbins poured in 17 points and was named to the 2026 All-Cattle Classic Team.
Head Coach Drew Olson and the Dawgs improved to 3-1 overall and finished 1-1 at the Classic.
“I felt like we showed just incredible resiliency and toughness,” Coach Olson said. “When your leader, when your best friend goes down, it’s really hard to play. Ray means so much to our team. But our team kind of regrouped and, like I said, showed so much toughness in that stretch.”
With the score knotted up, senior Raelyn Kelty went to the bench midway through the second quarter (nine points), following a leg injury. After weathering a DSU 13-7 run to end the half, Concordia unleashed a game-defining 15-0 scoring surge. Bree Bunting (14 points, four rebounds) ignited the run with a jumper, and Ava Reed followed with a steal and an assist to Sammy Leu (six points) for a fast-break finish. Libby Hoffman capped off the onslaught, burying two treys to energize the Bulldog bench.
At the 4:16 mark of the fourth quarter, DSU whittled the lead down to three (57-54), but Robbins helped put the game on ice with two free throws and a basket down the stretch. The forward delivered one of her best performances to date, adding eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and a 5-for-6 effort from the free-throw line.
Coach Olson continued, “Makynna is just an incredible player, incredible athlete and a great competitor. She’s a tough matchup because she’s so athletic and so fast. Her effort got us so many extra-chance points, which were really big down that stretch.”
The rough-and-tumble Dawg defense kept the pressure dialed up, collecting 14 steals. Abbie Kromarek led the charge with five swipes. Paired with Maci Pittenger (seven rebounds, three assists, two steals), Kromarek and the freshman wreaked havoc on the Trojan offense, closing with elite speed in unison. Reed and Robbins also recorded at least two steals apiece.
Coach Olson praised the Kromarek and Pittenger tandem. “We call them dogs. We’ve got some dogs on our team. Those two, Jocelyn, throw her in there. They’re just so good on the ball, and you’re right, they caused some havoc for a stretch. Libby even hopped in there for a little bit to get a steal.”
Concordia shot 33.3 percent (8-for-24) from deep and 35.5 percent (22-for-62) from the field. The Bulldogs converted 12 of 15 attempts from the charity stripe.
Dakota State held a slight edge in field-goal percentage, shooting 36.2 percent (21-for-58) from the field, but struggled from beyond the arc (20.0 percent). The Trojans relied heavily on their bench (29 points) and were led in scoring by Hamtyn Heinz and Ella Carstensen with 10 points apiece.
Concordia will have a full seven days before traveling to Waldorf (1-4, 0-1 GPAC) on Nov. 14. The Bulldogs will take the court at 2 p.m. CT.
2026 Women's All-Cattle Classic Team:
Chloe Larsen, Montana Tech
Hallie Neibauer, Montana Tech
Makynna Robbins, Concordia
Bria Wasmund, Dakota State
Emma Yost, Dakota Wesleyan