Women's Basketball Knocks Off #14 Concordia 71-69 on the Road

(Seward, NE) – Days after a tough home loss to Dakota Wesleyan, the Hastings Broncos came to play at #14 Concordia, knocking down nine first half threes to take a 12-point lead into halftime  and holding on to win in the closing moments, 71-69.

Hastings hit two threes in their first three possessions coming from junior Mariyah Avila and freshman McKenna Yates. After the bulldogs rallied to go up 10-8, Yates split a pair of free throws, Hastings got a defensive stop and after drawing a foul, freshman Ann Bose stepped to the line and knocked down a pair of free throws to put Hastings up 11-10.

The Broncos continued their scoring run with a three-pointer by Yates with 1:45 left in the opening quarter. Yates then got a steal and got fouled at the other end, putting the Broncos up 16-10 with the two free throws. Concordia was able to cut the lead to 16-13 as the first quarter came to a close.

Junior Macy Bryant and Bose dominated in the second quarter, combining for 22 points with five triples. Concordia scored the first five points of the quarter, but Bose answered seconds later with a three to put the Broncos up one. Bose drained another three on the next Bronco possession to go up 22-18. Bose concluded her personal 8-0 with a layup, as Concordia scored to get within two.

Leading 27-22, Bryant hit a three and Bose scored inside to go up by nine. With 3:40 left in the half, Bryant put in another three. Concordia converted on a three-point play, but Bryant responded with her third three in less than three minutes to go up 40-28. Concordia's layup cut the lead to 10, but following a timeout, Bryant scored down low again and finished the three-point play. Leading 43-33, Hastings closed the half strong with a layup from sophomore Bailey Kissinger and a defensive stop to lead 45-33 at the half.

Sophomore Rachel Goodon scored the first bucket of the half to put the Broncos up 14 off the feed from Yates, then after a three by Concordia, Goodon scored again, this time from Avila. With the game at 49-39 and the momentum going Concordia's way, senior Kiernan Paulk scored seven unanswered points to put the Broncos up 56-39 with 2:56 left in the third. The Bulldogs closed the quarter strong though, outscoring Hastings 9-3 the rest of the period, including a last-second three.

The teams traded baskets to begin the fourth quarter, then with the Broncos leading by 12 with 7:03 remaining, Concordia drilled a three, forced a turnover, and knocked down a jumper at the other end to cut the lead to seven with under six minutes left. Kissing made a pair of free throws to push the lead back to nine.

Concordia continued to fight, knocking down a jumper with 3:39 left to get within seven and later draining a three-pointer with 2:57 to cut it to four. Bose stopped the momentum briefly with a layup, but Concordia scored inside on their next possession. With 52 seconds left, Avila made one of two from the line. The Bulldogs missed a three, but Hastings left the door open by making just one of two at the line to keep it a two-possession game, 71-65.

Hastings fouled at the other end and the Bulldogs hit both free throws to cut the lead to four. The Bulldogs got a steal and forced a timeout with 23 seconds left, then following the timeout, Concordia rebounded their own missed three and got fouled. Both free throws were made as Hastings gained possession with a 71-69 lead.

The Broncos were unable to put the game away at the line, as Avila missed them both to give Concordia a chance to tie or go ahead with a three. Concordia stepped back for a contested midrange jumper with about five seconds left, but the shot was long and Bryant grabbed the rebound to secure the 71-69 win.

Hastings shot 42 percent from the field and held Concordia to 40 percent. While Hastings did not hit a three in the second half, they still shot 36 percent for the game from downtown. They had a huge advantage on the boards, outrebouding the Bulldogs 44-30.

Yates had 14 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Bose also had 14 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Paulk finished with 13 points and six rebounds. Bryant had 12 points, all coming in the second quarter, along with four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Goodon led the team with seven rebounds to go with her five points and Avila had nine points, five rebounds, and team-high four assists.

The Broncos will continue their road trip in Sioux Center, IA against Dordt on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 2pm.