MVP Brigham spurs Bulldogs to 32nd all-time CIT title
VIDEO: Postgame reaction from Head Coach Drew Olson and MVP Kendal Brigham
MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Bulldog Women’s Basketball team hoped to script a faster start on Saturday (Jan. 27) evening, but eventually its depth of talent and experience wore out host Concordia University Wisconsin. For the 32nd time in program history, the Bulldogs have raised the Concordia Invitational Tournament championship trophy. Eighth-ranked CUNE mowed down the Falcons by a score of 78-48 inside the R. John Buuck Fieldhouse in Mequon. The Bulldog press flustered CUW into 32 turnovers.
This marked the 13th time the Bulldogs have seized the CIT title during Head Coach Drew Olson’s tenure. Olson owns an all-time CIT record of 29-3 while the current 2023-24 Bulldogs now stand at 17-2 overall.
“It feels great – I’m really proud of our team,” Olson said. “I told them, don’t ever take this for granted. It’s so fun to be able to win a championship. We had two hard-fought games. I’m proud of our team’s toughness and effort. They’re having a blast. I take a lot of pride in Concordia Nebraska. I love the school and everything it’s done for me. To be able to represent it at this stage is amazing. I’ve just been blessed with so many great players and assistant coaches to continue this dominance. I’m very thankful for Concordia and also these players and coaches.”
Slow starts offensively have become a bit of a theme lately for CUNE, but this squad has shown it won’t flinch when things don’t go exactly as planned. A year ago in Seward, the Bulldogs blistered the Falcons in a 100-49 rout. In the latest matchup of the two Concordias, the first 10 minutes were a stalemate (14-14) before shots began to fall for the visitors. The Bulldogs used an 8-0 run in the middle of the second quarter to gain control and a 27-20 advantage. The lead increased to 12 by halftime (40-28) as turnovers mounted for the Falcons.
CIT MVP Kendal Brigham wouldn’t allow CUW to sniff an upset in the second half. In the third quarter, the Wahoo, Neb., native went on a personal 6-0 run that made it a commanding 51-32 lead. Brigham gave her side consistent production throughout the weekend as she tallied 14 points in both CIT victories. In Saturday’s championship contest, Brigham made 5-of-9 shots from the floor and notched four assists and four steals. She was joined on the CIT All-Tournament Team by Taysha Rushton (27 combined points in the two games).
Brigham and Rushton are part of a fourth-year class of teammates that have the Bulldogs enjoying another stellar season. Each of them had their moments throughout the weekend. Sadie Powell drilled a dagger of a trey in Friday’s win over Concordia Ann Arbor and posted nine points and six rebounds in the championship game. Rushton (10) and freshman Sammy Leu (10) reached double figures in the title clash. Freshman Bree Bunting provided a nice lift with eight first-half points. CUNE shot 39.0 percent (30-for-77) for the game while CUW shot only 30.4 percent.
As part of many of the most successful seasons in school history, the Bulldogs have won the CIT championship. Said Brigham, “It’s just so fun. This is a tournament that we look forward to. It’s only our second year of CIT. With this maybe being my last one. I’m so glad we could come out with a win and I’m glad we could give Coach another one.”
CUW (10-9) last won a CIT championship in 2007. The Falcon representative on the CIT All-Tournament team was Erin Viergutz. She put up 12 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game.
The Bulldogs grinded through a stretch of three wins in four days. Their winning streak sits at 10. Said Olson, “We’re 17-2. If you would have said you would be 17-2 at this point, I would have said, we’ll take it. I love this team’s grit. We haven’t played awesome over the last couple of games, but we show a lot of fight and toughness. We’re almost like a tractor. It takes a little while to warm up. Once it starts going, you just can’t stop it. Hopefully we can get in a different vehicle that starts off a little bit faster.”
It will be GPAC action for the remainder of the regular season as the Bulldogs close the month of January with a trip to Morningside (11-8, 8-6 GPAC) on Wednesday. Tipoff from the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center in Sioux City, Iowa, is set for 6 p.m. CT. The two sides met in the conference opener in Seward on Nov. 15 with the result being an 86-62 victory for the Bulldogs.
2024 CIT All-Tournament Team
CUNE – Kendal Brigham – MVP
CUAA – Abby Long
CUNE – Taysha Rushton
CUC – Jaylene Wade
CUW – Erin Viergutz
Schutte, Smith too much for Falcons as Bulldogs win another CIT crown
VIDEO: Postgame reaction from Head Coach Ben Limback and MVP Noah Schutte
MEQUON, Wis. – At the end of the line, it was a hard-earned Concordia Invitational Tournament championship for the Concordia Bulldogs Men’s Basketball team. Late fireworks in the form of emphatic dunks from the likes of Noah Schutte and Tristan Smith helped punctuate Saturday (Jan. 27)’s 75-69 victory over Concordia University Wisconsin. The Bulldogs won their two CIT games in Mequon by a combined 11 points while following the lead of Schutte, now back-to-back CIT MVP award winner.
The CIT title marked the sixth for the Bulldogs during Limback’s tenure and the 30th in the history of the program. Limback also won three CIT titles as a player and two as the head coach at Concordia Ann Arbor. CUNE moved to 15-5 with its three-win week.
“In the first half, I thought they outplayed us in a lot of hustle plays – on the glass and loose balls,” Limback said. “They hit some big shots that you see at CIT when you’re at home. I thought we weathered the storm for the most part. Second half, their pressure bothered us. It was back and forth. We took a little bit of a lead. Noah and Tristan were good down the stretch with all the dunks and that stuff, but I thought Brad Bennett made some big plays and this was a big weekend for Hayden Frank. You come here to win – and I’m so proud of our guys for doing that.”
The outcome hung in the balance for the majority of the 40 minutes amidst the charged-up CIT atmosphere. It was a tenuous 55-54 CUNE lead until Schutte’s layup at the 6:40 mark initiated a dizzying 14-4 spurt that decided the game. The surge thrilled the Bulldog faithful, which watched Schutte throw in a dunk prior to a Zac Kulus trey and a pair of thunderous Smith throwdowns. By the time the spurt concluded, CUNE led 69-58 with fewer than three minutes remaining.
CUW found out what many other Bulldog opponents already knew – Schutte and Smith are stallions in the frontcourt. Schutte finished with a line of 22 points (8-for-11 from the floor) and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, the high flyin’ Smith posted his third double-double of the week, racking up 16 points and 12 rebounds. The one other CUNE player in double figures was Zac Kulus with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting. The team’s leading scorer on Friday, Frank chipped in with seven points off the bench on Saturday.
The Laurel, Neb., native Schutte keeps adding to his remarkable career. Said Schutte, “It’s a great experience. We have a lot of freshmen this year, and they’ve handled the situation really well. It really paid off. We were together this whole weekend and I think we really grew our bond. It showed on the court.”
CUW (8-11) won a CIT championship as recently as 2019 under Head Coach Shawn Cassidy. The Falcons’ CIT All-Tournament representative was Sam Meerstein, who notched 21 points and eight rebounds on Saturday. Other double figure scorers were Gabe Pruss (14) and Freeman Jackson (10). CUW shot only 36.8 percent overall but managed to go 10-for-27 from 3-point range. On the other side, the Bulldogs shot 47.1 percent (24-for-51) and had a 39-35 rebound advantage. The largest lead for the Falcons was six points during the first half.
The weekend triumphs saw CUNE come out on top through ebbs and flows in the first road CIT experience for all players on the roster. Said Limback, “I thought we grew up a lot. The environment’s good for us. We’re going to have a lot of GPAC road games coming up. That’s really important. Our ability to execute down the stretch has to improve. To be in those situations is good. We talked about having the opportunity to go to the locker room and hoist a trophy and celebrate with Concordia Nebraska fans. I’m happy for the guys to be able to experience this at CIT.
The Bulldogs will return to GPAC action on Wednesday with a trip to Morningside (14-5, 9-3 GPAC), which plays its home games at the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Tipoff is slated for 7:45 p.m. CT. The two sides met in the conference opener in Seward on Nov. 15 when the Mustangs emerged with a 101-89 victory.
2024 CIT All-Tournament Team
CUNE – Noah Schutte – MVP
CUAA – Devyn Jones
CUW – Sam Meerstein
CUNE – Tristan Smith
CUC – Emmanuel Wilson
