Northwestern at Concordia

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Game Time... Top-ranked Northwestern will play its second straight ranked opponent as they head to Seward, Neb. to take on 25th-ranked Concordia. The Red Raiders will try to bounce back after Wednesday's 81-75 loss to Morningside in Sioux City. Northwestern is 4-1 in the GPAC, 8-2 overall while Concordia is 9-3 overall, 3-2 in the GPAC. Listen to the game via the Bulldogs webcast at the following link: Listen Now!

Head-to-Head... Concordia leads the all-time series 15-26, although the Red Raiders have the advantage of late. Northwestern is 6-4 in the last 10 match-ups and has won five straight, including a 2-0 record in 2008-09. Coach Woudstra's squad knocked off Concordia 78-66 in the regular season and then defeated the Bulldogs 80-78 in overtime in the GPAC semifinals last year.

Scouting Concordia...The Bulldogs return three starters and six of their top nine players from a 2008-09 team that finished tied for third in the GPAC with a 14-4 record. Concordia qualified for its second national tournament under the guidance of head coach Drew Olson where they won two games and advanced to the Elite Eight. They lost to national runner-up and GPAC rival, Hastings, to finish the season with a 26-9 record. Concordia was picked to finish fifth in the GPAC preseason poll and come in with a 9-3 record, 3-2 in the GPAC.

Concordia opened the 2009-10 season with a 6-1 record, its only loss to Briar Cliff (97-67) in non-conference action. Since then, the Bulldogs are 3-2 with wins over Midland Lutheran, Doane and Dakota Wesleyan sandwiched by losses to ninth-ranked Mount Marty and third-ranked Hastings. The Broncos held on for a 73-66 women’s basketball win over Concordia on Wednesday. Concordia was 22-of-61 from the field,10-of-20 from the three point line and 12-of-19 from the free throw line in the loss. Stacy Scheer had a game-high 20 points for Concordia.  Katie Rich had 13, Kristin Miller scored 12 and TaLisa Krejci delivered 10 for the Bulldogs.

Coach Olson's squad averages 74 points per game, shooting 38% from the field. They rank fifth in the GPAC with 81 three-pointers and are the fourth best rebounding team with a +4 margin. Defensively, the Bulldogs give up 64 points per game. Headlining the list of returners are senior guards Stacy Scheer and TaLisa Krejci who both earned honorable mention all-GPAC honors in 2008-09. The Bulldogs' top player off the bench last year, Scheer moved into the starting line-up this year and leads the team averaging nearly 14 points per game. She ranks second on the team with 20 three-pointers and is tied for the team lead with 35 assists. Krejci has played in just nine games so far and averages five points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Kristin Miller, a 6-0 junior post, also earned honorable mention all-GPAC honors last year and averages nine points and 5.3 boards per game. Another returner, Angela Kuca, leads the team with 22 three-pointers, shooting 45% from beyond the arc. Two freshmen, Katie Rich and Treva Nutter, have made a big impact on this year's squad. Rich, a 5-9 guard who is the sister of Red Raider volleyball player Bobbie jean, averages 11.4 points and a team-best 6.3 boards per game. Nutter, a 5-8 guard, averages 9.5 points and is tied for the team lead with 35 assists.

Red Raider Notes... The Raiders had their seven-game win streak snapped Wednesday night as they lost to #18 Morningside on the road, 81-75. Kami Kuhlmann netted a career-high 28 points, going 10-for-21 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Becca Hurley registered her second double-double of the season and seventh of her career with 15 points and a team-best 14 rebounds. Randa Hulstein, playing in her first game of the season, netted 15 points and pulled down nine boards for NWC. The Raiders shot 47% for the game, just 24% from the three-point line. They outrebounded Morningside, 44-40, but committed 24 turnovers.

Northwestern ranks among the league's best in scoring offense (78), scoring defense (61), field goal percentage defense (35%), rebounding (+7) and field goal percentage (46%). Four players are averaging in double figures, led by Kami Kuhlmann who scores 16.4 points per game. The sophomore is shooting 47% from the field and ranks second on the team with 13 three-pointers. Becca Hurley ranks eighth in the GPAC scoring 15.6 points per game. The junior is fifth in the GPAC in both assists (35) and steals (25). Randa Hulstein averages nearly a double-double (15 points and nine boards) shooting 83% from the field. Kendra DeJong ranks 10th in the GPAC with 14 points per game and sixth in rebounding (7.4).