Senior Night Win; Bulldogs Prevail Over Hastings

#11 Kayla Luebbe makes her shot in the post.

Photo Courtesy of Olivia Dunklau

By Olivia Dunklau

In a 79-64 win on their home floor over the Hastings College Broncos, the Concordia Bulldogs celebrated senior night.

Before the game began, seniors Taylor Cockerill, Rebecca Higgins, Emily Jones, and Faith Troshynski were honored for their years of basketball at Concordia. Each player was announced with their parents and received gifts and flowers. The Bulldogs, now ranked at number 22 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, beat a struggling Hastings College. Hastings is now 6-16 with their overall record. 

Finding the glass first was Cockerill with a layup to start. Cockerill was the second-highest scorer for the Bulldogs with 15 points along with four steals. When shots stopped falling during the first quarter, the Bulldogs quickly recovered by passing the ball inside to sophomore Kayla Luebbe. With the team going seven for 16 on three-point shots, Luebbe took every opportunity to make a move in the post earning 14 points and four rebounds. Both the Broncos and the Bulldogs scratched for the lead ending the first quarter tied 15-15. 

The Broncos had a lead of 17-15 early in the second quarter. That didn’t last long before the Bulldogs went on a shooting spree, putting up 26 more points and only allowing Hastings four points. The Bulldogs went into halftime with a shooting percentage of 55 and a promising lead set at 41-21. 

Coach Drew Olson kept up a rotation of players, letting all 15 see action. 13 of the 15 Bulldogs put points on the board and ended with a shooting average of 45 percent, while the Broncos finished with a shooting percentage of 27. Junior guard Mackenzie Koepke contributed six points, three assists and seven total rebounds. Six of those rebounds coming from the defensive side.

Concordia took their largest lead at the end of the third quarter by 28 points, leaving the Broncos in the dust. The Bulldogs held the lead for the remainder of the game, never going below 15 points the rest of the game. 

Concordia’s win over the Broncos adds to their current five-game win streak. The Bulldogs will play their last regular-season game on Saturday, Feb. 20 at home, to face the Doane University Tigers with tipoff at 2 p.m. The Tigers currently have a 5-19 overall record. Concordia last knocked down Doane earlier in the season 111-52.