No. 9 Women’s Basketball Outlasts College of Saint Mary
by Jacy Johnston
On Wednesday night, the No. 9 Concordia women’s basketball team successfully defeated College of Saint Mary 73-67 in Omaha.
The Bulldogs started the game slowly and trailed the Flames 21-9 after the first quarter. After the quarter break, Concordia began to snap back and rattled off 29 points before the half.
Junior Laurel Krohn helped to continue the Bulldog momentum halfway through the second quarter with back-to-back buckets to help the Bulldogs pull within one at 27-26. With 47 seconds left in the half, freshman Quinn Wragge once again pulled the Bulldogs up to a one-point deficit of 36-37. Then Wragge dropped in another bucket to give Concordia a lead, but a pair of free throws gave the Flames a 39-38 halftime lead.
In the second half, Concordia outscored Saint Mary in both quarters. Halfway through the third quarter, the Bulldogs led 51-47. Wragge continued to put up points and increased the lead to 54-49 with less than three minutes in the third quarter. The Flames fought back to make the score 54-53 with three quarters of play done.
The fourth quarter continued with close play. With under a minute, sophomore Mary Janovich completed a layup to gain a 68-64 lead for Concordia. When it came down to free throws, the Bulldogs finished strong and won the game.
Wragge scored 19 points, while sophomore Brenleigh Daum tallied another 18 points for the Bulldogs.
“I am proud of how our team has progressed throughout the year. We are learning how to win together,” Concordia coach Drew Olson said. “Every game is difficult in this conference and we have to continue to be focused for 40 minutes on the task and out hustle teams.”
The Bulldogs are 13-4 overall and stand 8-4 in the GPAC. Concordia will play its next contest in Walz Arena at 2 p.m. on Jan. 16 versus Dakota Wesleyan.
