DWU women fall to No. 1-ranked Concordia 78-58

SEWARD, Neb. —Turnovers proved costly for the Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball team as it fell to Concordia University 78-58 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup Saturday in Seward, Neb.

“The kids played hard, but we just had too many turnovers,” DWU head coach Jason Christensen said of his team’s 29-turnover performance. “I am sure Concordia played a part in that as well, but I thought we played hard and competed well overall.”

The Tigers shot at a 42.9 percent clip, while the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs shot 37.9 percent. Although DWU shot a higher clip from the field, Concordia outshot the Tigers from behind the arc. The Bulldogs shot 45.5 percent while DWU shot 21.1 percent.

DWU was led by forward Kim Johnson, who recorded a game-high 22 points. Celeste Beck was the only other DWU player to reach double figures. She finished with 11 points.

Concordia was led by a quartet of double-figure scorers. Leading the way was Kristen Conahan, who finished the game with a team-high 18 points. Bailey Morris scored 15 and Jericca Pearson added 10.

Bulldog Lori Laboda recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

“We play in a really strong conference night in and night out, and you have to be tough if you want to win in the GPAC,” Christensen said.

DWU takes on another GPAC foe Mount Marty at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Yankton.

Concordia 78

DAKOTA WESLEYAN 58

Dakota Wesleyan (8-4, 2-3) Kim Johnson 9-15 3-3 22, Elizabeth Lamb 0-4 1-2 1, Taylor Piper 1-3 1-2 3, Amanda Hart 2-9 2-2 7, Brittany Hills 3-6 2-3 8, Lexie Christensen 0-0 0-0 0, Celeste Beck 4-7 1-2 11, Katie Johnson 2-4 2-2 6, Shekela Quarles 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 21-49 12-16 58.

Concordia (12-0,6-0) Lori Laboda 4-8 3-4 12, Jenna Lehmann 1-2 0-0 2, Tracy Peitz 3-10 0-0 7, Kristen Conahan 6-17 2-2 18, Katie Rich 2-5 3-4 7, Taylor Wissing 0-0 0-0 0, Bailey Morris 4-14 4-5 15, Kelsey Hizer 1-3 0-0 2, Beh Kohmetscher 1-2 0-0 3, Dawn Martin 0-2 0-0 0, Jericca Pearson 2-2 6-8 10, Britney Birtell 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 25-66 18-23 78.

Halftime: Concordia 42-29. 3-point field goals: DWU: 4-19 (Beck 2, Johnson 1, Hart 1), Concordia: 10-22 ( Conahan 4, Morris 3, Kohmetscher 1, Peitz 1, Laboda 1). Rebounds: DWU 33 (Johnson 6, Hart 6, Hills 6), Concordia 43 (Laboda 12, Morris 5). Assist: DWU 14 ( Hills 7), Concordia 14 (Conahan 4). Turnovers: DWU: 29. Concordia: 21. Total Fouls: DWU 17. Concordia: 16. Technical Fouls: None.

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