No. 5 Women’s Basketball Win Thriller Over No. 10 Hastings College

by Jacy Johnston

The No. 5 Concordia women’s basketball team continued its GPAC romp and moved up to second in the conference standings after a 75-72 win over No. 10 Hastings College. The Bulldogs now stand at 15-4 overall and 10-4 in the conference.

The Bulldogs started the game off with an early lead of 9-2. With under a minute to play, junior Shelby Quinn extended the lead 19-10 with an old-fashioned 3-point play. Freshman Quinn Wragge netted eight points in the first quarter to help give Concordia a 19-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. Hastings closed the gap in the second quarter, and by halftime, the Bulldogs led only 38-36.

Concordia was unable to maintain its lead, and the Broncos soon held a 48-43 lead over halfway through the third quarter. Sophomore Brenleigh Daum regained control for the Bulldogs with back-to-back three pointers to regain the lead at 51-50. Concordia maintained the lead and ended the third quarter up 61-59.

The close game continued throughout the fourth quarter, and multiple Bulldogs stepped up to put their first points on the scoreboard for the night. With under three minutes to play, Concordia led 71-70. Neither team could get an offensive spark with almost three minutes of scoreless play for both sides. Solid free throw shooting by the Bulldogs down the stretch solidified the win, and Concordia ended up on top 75-72.

Both teams struggled from the free throw line throughout the game. Hastings shot a bleak 25 percent from the foul line, while Concordia shot only 37 percent. Both teams shot higher percentages from the field throughout the game.

Wragge led the Bulldogs with 21 points and nine rebounds and Daum contributed 14 points. Quinn tallied eight assists to match her eight points.

Women’s basketball continues their season at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23 in South Dakota against Mount Marty College.