Concordia Women’s Basketball Sweeps Morningside University
Daniel Kuefner
Sower Staff
The Concordia women’s basketball team defeated Morningside University 74-60 on Thursday, completing the season sweep of the Mustangs. Sophomore Abby Heemstra racked up 12 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes of play.
Concordia came out of the gate swinging, taking an early 11-0 lead over Morningside. Just after the halfway point of the first quarter the Bulldogs and Mustangs exchanged three-pointers, taking the score to 14-6. Following another three from Morningside, Concordia called a timeout with three minutes left in the quarter. The Bulldogs ended the first quarter with a 18-11 lead over the Mustangs.
In the first two minutes of the second quarter the Mustangs were able to score five points without allowing a Bulldog basket. The Bulldogs went on a 12-0 run for the next five minutes of the quarter, taking their lead to 14 points. Concordia was able to capitalize from the free throw line going 8-8 after getting into the bonus with 4:36 left in the quarter. The half ended with a score of 37-21 in favor of Concordia.
Concordia racked up twice the amount of rebounds as their opponent in the first half with 34 to Morningside’s 17. The Bulldogs also managed to outshoot the Mustangs with a 34.4% from the floor, besting the opponent’s 26.6%. Concordia sophomore guard Abby Krieser finished the first half with nine points and was able to tally three steals.
In the third quarter, the Bulldogs extended their lead to 13 points with a layup from Heemstra, making the score 42-29 with 7:05 on the clock. Morningside went on a run, bringing the game back within four, capped off with a three-pointer with 4:11 left in the quarter, leaving the score 45-41 Bulldogs. The quarter ended 54-47 with the Mustangs still trailing the Bulldogs.
Concordia carried momentum into the final quarter, going on a 7-0 run and taking their lead to 14. With 6:30 left in the contest Morningside narrowed the lead to 10 with a layup that made the score 61-51. Concordia handled the lead from that point on, holding off the charging Mustangs.
Heemstra talked about the team’s success against Morningside after the game. She said, “We shared the ball well and everyone stepped up when we needed them to. We handled Morningside’s runs well and then were able to respond with scoring runs of our own.”
Sophomore Sadie Powell helped boost the Bulldogs’ momentum in the second half when she collected all 10 of her points and ended with four steals. Concordia finished the contest 12-14 from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs scored 28 points off turnovers, compared to Morningside’s 11.
Concordia’s record is now 11-7 with a Great Plains Athletic Conference record of 9-5. The Bulldogs will be on the road as they take on Northwestern College on Saturday.
