Concordia Women Start Basketball Season with 74-52 Win Over Bellevue

by Zack Gentry

Sophomore guard Kendal Brigham scored 14 points, including four of seven 3-point
attempts, to lead the Concordia women’s basketball team to a 74-52 season-opening win over
the Bellevue Bruins in the first round of the 23rd Annual Cattle Classic Friday night at Friedrich
Arena.

Bulldog freshman forward Kristin Vieselmeyer added 10 points and five rebounds while
sophomore forward Abby Heemstra had 10 points and three rebounds. Sophomore guard Taysha
Rushton had nine points, seven assists and four steals, while sophomore guard Abby Kreiser had seven points and four rebounds.

The Bulldogs and the Bruins could not seem to get the ball in the basket for the first couple minutes of the game. The Bruins ended up going on an 8-0 run to take the early lead in the quarter. The Bulldogs could not seem to score within the first four minutes of the game, until sophomore guard Mackenzie Toomey sparked the Bulldogs with a three to finally put the Bulldogs on the board. After the three by Toomey, it was a lot of back and forth with the Bruins. Bulldog freshman guard Megan Belt hit back-to-back threes to tie it up at 17 and to take the first lead of the game 20-17. During the second quarter, there were a lot of stops back and forth. Brigham hit a deep three from the wing to give the Bulldogs a 32-28 halftime lead.

The Bruins hit back-to-back threes to start off the third quarter, but Concordia’s Vieselmeyer
tied the score at 36. Rushton hit a three and then scored on a steal to push the Bulldog lead to
41-38, and Concordia never trailed after that, building a 55-45 lead after three quarters.

The Bulldogs scored two to start the fourth with a steal by Rushton that led to a pass to
Toomey for the layup. The Bulldogs ended up going on a 6-0 run before the Bruins had to call
time out. The Bulldogs continued to build their lead and ran out the last 12 seconds to end the
game with a 74-52 win.

Coach Drew Olson said that at the beginning of the game, the team came out nervous
and rushed shots in the first half. He said he was thankful that the team hit a lot of threes to start
pulling away their lead. Olson also said that in the second half he felt like they were doing a
better job trying to get to the rim.

Senior guard Mackenzie Koepke said the team worked hard in the off-season and is
ready to compete.

“Off season was really good,” she said. “It’s always hard practicing for so long without
games, but our team did a really good job of staying focused on our goals and working hard to
get better.”