Women's Basketball Holds Bulldogs Below 30 Percent, Win 84-49
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Concordia (NE) (13-12, 8-11) | 15 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 49 |
|
Hastings (19-6, 14-5) | 16 | 18 | 19 | 31 | 84 |
(Hastings, NE) – The #24 Hastings Broncos, winners of their last five, put that streak to the test on Wednesday against a hungry Concordia team. The Broncos showed strong defense to dominate the Bulldogs, 84-49, the largest margin of victory (35) dating back to 2005. They held the Bulldogs to 27 percent shooting, including 5-29 (17 percent) in the second and third quarters.
Both teams scored just three points in the first three-and-a-half minutes with junior Mariyah Avila hitting a three for Hastings. Two free throws from junior Macy Bryant, a Concordia backcourt turnover, and a three-pointer from senior Alyssa Baker put Hastings up 8-3 with 6:01 left in the quarter.
Leading 8-5, another backcourt turnover by the Bulldogs set up a triple from freshman Ann Bose. After Concordia went on a 7-2 scoring spurt, freshman McKenna Yates splashed in a three to go up 16-12 at the 1:30 mark, leading to a 16-15 lead after one.
Concordia scored six of the first eight points of the second quarter to go up 21-18, but Hastings responded with baskets from Yates and sophomore Rachel Goodon to retake a one-point lead. Sophomore Bailey Kissinger put in three free throws and drilled a deep ball to push the lead to seven with 4:35 remaining in the half.
Kissinger, who led Hastings in scoring at the half, scored in transition on a tough layup to conclude her personal 8-0 run. Hastings ended up closing the half on a 16-2 run, going almost nine minutes without giving up points. The Broncos went into the break with a 34-23 lead by holding Concordia to 28 percent shooting overall and 27 percent from three in the first 20 minutes, in addition to forcing 12 turnovers.
Similar to the first quarter, Avila responded to a Bulldog basket with one of her own in the opening moments of the third, then Arredondo went coast-to-coast on a steal for a layup to go up, 38-25. Senior Kiernan Paulk later extended the lead to 15 on a driving layup with 3:58 to go in the third.
Bryant scored on some two nice post moves down low and knocked down two from the stripe to make it 51-30. Avila continued the run with a lefty finish coming across the lane to give Hastings a 23-point lead going to the fourth.
Goodon cleaned up a Bronco miss and finished through the contact to begin the fourth quarter scoring. Freshman Jentri Marx and Baker added to the lead with layups to give Hastings a 61-33 lead at the 7:20 mark. After a Bulldog bucket, Kissinger somehow was able to score inside over the Bulldog defense with a crafty finish.
Yates put Hastings up 30 with 5:42 left and a five-point offensive trip started by an and-one basket from Goodon and ending with a three from Avila put the Broncos up 70-37. The Broncos continued to close the game strong, ending the contest with a 84-49 win.
Hastings shot 43 percent from the field and 41 percent from three, while outrebounding the Bulldogs by 13 and scoring 30 points off of 23 turnovers. Avila and Goodon each finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Yates had 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Kissinger had 10 points and five rebounds off the bench. Bryant also contributed eight points and five boards.
Up next, Hastings will host (RV) Northwestern on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 2pm in Lynn Farrell Arena.
