Women’s basketball heats up against College of Saint Mary, 88-42

Freshman Ayla Roth looks for a teammate to pass the ball (photo from previous game).

Photo credit: Maximus Fritsche

By Ransom Watts

Continual improvements turned a slow start for Concordia women’s basketball into a blowout victory against the College of Saint Mary.

Concordia women’s basketball more than doubled the score of College of Saint Mary with a commanding 88-42 victory this Wednesday night in Omaha.

The first quarter proved to be a slow start, with little offensive momentum for either team. The Bulldogs were able to maintain their lead over College of Saint Mary by only a few points until late in the first quarter, when the Bulldogs were able to overcome the offensive drought and create some substantial distance in the score from the Flames.

At the start of the second quarter, Concordia led St Mary 21-6, and from there only lengthened the gap between them and their opponent. Thanks to a high number of defensive rebounds that allowed the Bulldogs to maximize their possession of the ball, and 33 percent shooting, Concordia managed to outscore the Flames 20-4 by the end of the second quarter.

Concordia went into the third quarter with a domineering 43-10 lead over Saint Mary, and showed no signs of stopping, despite a little more offensive spirit from the Flames. From the start of the quarter, junior Sammy Leu quickly added points to the Bulldogs lead with several field goals and a few three-point shots. Leu led the team in the third quarter with seven points, and with help from junior teammates Juliana Jones and Libby Hoffman, succeeded in increasing the Bulldogs’ lead over Saint Mary 63-24 by the end of the 3rd quarter.

Apart from the raw score, the Bulldogs saw further offensive improvements in the third with a 47 percent field goal shooting percentage and a three-point shooting percentage of 33 percent.

With the win all but guaranteed going into the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs showed no interest in slowing down. Hoffman continued to be an offensive powerhouse, where she scored 13 points for Concordia and shot 75 percent from the three-point line. Hoffman wasn’t the only Bulldog who was a sharpshooter from three in the fourth. As a whole, the team jumped to 45 percent from beyond the arc, which allowed them to maintain a 40-point lead until the final buzzer.

After Wednesday night’s game, the Bulldogs improved their record even further to 20-5. Concordia now looks down the road to the last few games of the regular season and then on to the Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships Quarterfinals. But first, the women must take on the 18-8 Briar Cliff Chargers this Saturday, Feb. 14, at 2 p.m. in Sioux Center, Iowa.