Cornell’s 17 Points Assist Bulldogs in Blowout Win
Fans and the bench look on as Grace Barry attempts a basket. Photo courtesy of Lyric Allen.
By Elisha Meyer
Sophomore Claire Cornell of the women’s basketball team went off for 17 points and the defense created turnovers left and right as the third-ranked Bulldogs took care of Doane University 102-47 in Crete Wednesday afternoon.
The Tigers have plenty of success in their history, but are at the low-point of a rebuilding campaign that started after the team’s last appearance in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tournament in 2006. Coach Ryan Baumgartner’s squad entered the contest with only two wins to its name, the last win coming on Jan. 23 against Great Plains Athletic Conference foe College of Saint Mary.
Concordia entered the game coming off what could have easily been its third loss of the season against Dakota Wesleyan University. A miracle finish kept the Bulldogs on top in a 69-67 finish.
The first half belonged solely to the Bulldogs, who put aside their offensive struggles of the past with a 23-1 scoring run to start the game. Concordia shot an overwhelming 58.3% from the floor, hitting seven three pointers and only allowing one steal for Doane. Senior Philomena Lammers led the team with 13 points in just nine minutes of playing time.
The defense separated the score even further by stealing the ball 18 times and holding Doane to a shooting percentage of 27.8%. Doane only hit one field goal in the first quarter, going 1-6 on all shots. No individual player for the Tigers was able to score more than four points in the half.
The Bulldogs cooled off on offense in the second half, but still finished with a 51.9 field goal percentage. Lammers cooled off as well, which cleared the path for Cornell, who finished the night with 17 points. The point total added to the 58 points coming from players off Concordia’s bench. Lammers would still finish with the second highest point total at 15 for the Bulldogs.
Doane would continue to struggle on offense, but Haylee Heits took the reigns for the Tigers, turning 4 points in the first half into 19 by the end of the game. The rest could not be said of the other Tiger players, as the team’s shooting percentage climbed to only 31%.
Not much would change throughout the game, but a scary situation involving Doane’s Cheyenne Ostrander developed with 6:09 to go in the fourth quarter. As several players went up for a rebound, Ostrander fell to the floor waving to her face and chest amidst an apparent asthma attack. She was eventually carried off the floor by Doane and Concordia athletic personnel, not to return for the rest of the game. Both schools’ athletic trainers said that she was okay and was walking on her own power again after the game.
Doane will continue to try and develop a system in its next game at 17th-ranked Northwestern College at 2 p.m this Saturday.
The Bulldogs will stay on the road to take on ninth-ranked Dordt University at the same time this Saturday. The Bulldogs beat Dordt 69-55 in their last contest in January.
