MITCHELL, S.D. – Super Bowl Sunday hosted a top conference matchup between Concordia at Dakota Wesleyan in the World’s Only Corn Palace. After seizing the lead for the first time midway through the third quarter, the Bulldogs were trampled by a 15-0 Tigers run that ended with an 83-75 loss for the visitors. CUNE matched its second lowest field goal percentage (36.4) of the year and was outrebound 57-31 off the glass. Rushton led the team with a stat stuffing performance of 19 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists.
The Bulldogs fall to 20-4 overall and 14-4 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). Head Coach Drew Olson commented on the team’s play throughout the game and the mistakes he made in the game.
“It was a tough game. We did not come with the effort that we needed. That first quarter we got outplayed. They were more physical than us. They outrebounded us by a ton and we got in a little bit of a hole. Our team had some fight and toughness to them, so we come out at halftime and showed what we are capable of. We took a one point lead and from that point, they went on a 15-0 run. That’s on me I should have called a timeout and tried to get us in a better situation. We continued to fight in the fourth quarter, but we weren’t good enough today. I wasn’t good enough today.”
After the scoring drive in the third (58-44), the Bulldogs responded cutting the lead to seven halfway through the quarter. Toomey added three of her 10 points, while Rushton made five of her 19 in the run. After today’s showing, the Midland, Texas native jumped to 1,779 in her career and passed three former Bulldogs to No. 4 in the all-time scoring list above Whitney Stichka (1,765), Kari Saving (1,773) and Quinn Wragge (1,776).
Concordia wouldn’t give up hope in pulling off the road win, cutting the lead to six with 26 seconds on the clock. Dakota Wesleyan would make 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final minutes to put the game out of reach late. Abby Krieser would not be denied in the fourth quarter shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from the field, in a 10-point frame that kept the Bulldogs close late. She had 14 on the day, and Powell collected points each quarter for a 16-point showing.
Four out of the five starters collected five rebounds apiece, as the defense caused 17 turnovers off 12 steals. Kendal Brigham picked up five points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
The Tigers shot 40 percent from three and shot 37.3 percent (25-of-67) on 15 assists. With a +26-rebound differential, Morgan Edelman and Rylee Rosenquist grabbed 13 and 11 rebounds, respectively. Taliyah Hayes had a career high 25 points to lead Dakota Wesleyan to their 12th conference win.
Concordia (20-4, 14-4 GPAC) will continue its second contest of a 3-game road stretch versus the closest conference opponent Doane (14-10, 9-9 GPAC). Tip off is set for 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday (Feb. 14) inside Haddix Center.