Seventh-ranked Bulldogs knock down 15 treys in runaway win over Nebraska Wesleyan
SEWARD, Neb. – All-American guard Kristen Conahan reached another career milestone on Wednesday night as seventh-ranked Concordia marched to a 94-65 victory over rival Nebraska Wesleyan. Head coach Drew Olson’s squad won for the third-straight time overall and for the 13th-consecutive time in the series against the Prairie Wolves. Concordia is 9-2 overall and 5-1 in GPAC play.
The Bulldogs blitzed Nebraska Wesleyan out of the gates and led 18-3 just a few minutes after the game’s opening tip. Included in that run was a Conahan triple that marked the 300th 3-point field goal of her career. She went off for three more treys in the first 20 minutes as part of a dominant first half.
Olson walked away wanting more despite the team’s impressive 48.4 percent shooting from 3-point territory.
“We played OK. Nebraska Wesleyan did a good job of continuing to fight,” Olson said. “They cut (our lead) to eight in the second half, but our bench was the key tonight. They played great and they played hard. They got defensive stops.
“But overall it definitely was not one of our best performances. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to take care of the ball.”
Conahan piled up 17 points in the first half and 21 for the game. The Omaha native, now with 1,554 career points, busted up the Wesleyan zone to the tune of 6-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc. That led the way for a 15-for-31 effort from long range as a team.
“That’s just who we are. If you’re open shoot it,” Olson said. “If you miss a few don’t worry about it. We always say that if you’re a 50 percent shooter and you miss your first three, you’re going to make the next three.”
Connie’s running mate Bailey Morris took over after a Concordia lull to begin the second half. Morris scored 10-straight points in a two-minute span and then rifled a bounce pass to Taylor Wissing for a layup in transition to make it a 12-0 Bulldog run.
For good measure, Morris added a heat-check 3-pointer from the right wing and then a darting layup soon after to make it 71-48 near the 11-minute mark. The rout continued from there as the Bulldogs led by as many as 31 points.
“We just weren’t very happy with how we were playing the first half defensively,” Morris said. “That was one thing we tried to emphasize so when we went on that run, that was all because of our defense. I thought the group that was in there did a really good job of getting stops and we were able to run the floor. That’s our game.”
The star-studded backcourt duo of Conahan and Morris combined for 41 points. Morris, a native of Roseland, Neb., went for 20 points, six assists and four steals while shooting 4-for-7 from deep. Junior Tracy Peitz added 10 points as the third and final teammate in double figures.
Seven different Bulldogs made at least one 3-point field goal as Concordia’s 15 treys marked a season high and were the most for the program since hitting 15 in a 121-72 win over Johnson & Wales (Colo.) on Nov. 9, 2012.
Concordia continued its havoc-wreaking ways as it forced 34 turnovers and owned a 39-18 advantage in points off turnovers. The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 103-28 in that category over the past three games.
Nebraska Wesleyan was topped by the game high 22 points from Felicia TeKolste.
The Bulldogs turn around quickly with another game on Thursday when they host York (4-5) at 7 p.m. Concordia will return to conference play on Saturday as Mount Marty (4-6, 0-5 GPAC) visits Seward for a 2 p.m. tip off. Olson’s squad went a combined 4-0 against York and Mount Marty last season.
