HASTINGS, Neb. – Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s basketball’s six-game win streak was snapped by Hastings inside Lynn Farrell Arena on Saturday (Feb. 21). The Broncos forced 13 first half turnovers and used the double-digit lead to keep the Dawgs at arm’s length in an 81-71 loss for the visitors. In the regular-season finale, Ayla Roth led CUNE with 18 points stuffing the stat sheet in multiple categories.
Head Coach Drew Olson and company dropped to 22-6 overall and 17-5 in the conference.
“That was the first thing I said to the team,” Coach Olson said. “I thought we did a good job of not laying down. We were continuing to compete and fight. I thought we were going to make it kind of interesting. We hit a couple threes to cut it to nine. We just couldn’t get all the way back. You expend so much energy to do that. It was good to see that we competed all the way to the end.”
Down 18 (58-40) at the 2:48 mark of the third, Concordia went on a 15-6 scoring onslaught to cut the advantage to single digits. Two different players made multiple baskets to pull the Bulldogs back including Kristin Vieselmeyer (eight points) and Juliana Jones (11 points).
Concordia showed grit, continuing to battle to suffocate the lead back down. Hastings always found an answer, many times in bench player Adyson Mlnarik (22 points). The Broncos rode the win out on the foul line in the final minutes.
Both defenses watched the 3-point line like a hawk as the two rosters shot under 30 percent from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs yielded one less free possession (21 turnovers) having a minimal edge over the Broncos (22).
Down five before the halftime break, Hastings pulled the trigger for a 5-0 run before going into the locker rooms. The in-state clash saw a slight edge for the Broncos in field goal percentage (42.9-39.7), 3-point percentage (29.0-23.3), free throw percentage (75.0-71.4), second chance points (13-12) and bench points (24-22).
Roth kept the Bulldogs afloat in moments, shooting 6-for-11 from the field and 3-for-6 from three. The Milford, Neb., native made an impact in almost every category with five rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Coach Olson added, “Ayla was great. She had a really good game overall. She did a lot for us on both ends.”
Others hitting double figures were Raelyn Kelty (11 points) and Jones (4-for-7). Sammy Leu notched eight points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Hastings (21-7, 17-5 GPAC) relied on various players with six reaching the double-figure mark. Macy Bryant had a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) performance and McKenna Yates (11 points, nine rebounds) was one board shy. The Broncos’ biggest advantage was in rebounds (51-38). They will wait to see which seed they will be in the GPAC tournament.
Concordia (22-6, 17-5 GPAC) will be the No. 4 seed in the conference playoffs and will host either Briar Cliff or Northwestern in the quarterfinals.