In a matchup of two of the GPACs top three scorers, BCs Konnor Sudmann outscored Dordts Erika Feenstra 23-22 en route to an 83-65 upset victory against the #9 Defenders Wednesday at the Newman Flanagan Center. This is the second win over a ranked team for the Blue and Gold this season.
Sudmann was a perfect 14-for-14 from the free throw line in the win. Madelyn Deitchler added 22 points and one one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with nine. As a team, the Cliff was 28-of-31 from the charity stripe, compared to 12-for-18 freebie shooting by Dordt.
Alyssa Carley chipped in 14 points for BC and Jadyn Bussinger snagged four steals while Payton Slaughter dished out four assists.
“This was a great team effort,” said head coach Mike Power. “Our starting five were great tonight. Konnor set the tone for us and Madelyn was awesome inside and on the boards. Peyton set the table and Jadyn had her best game. Alyssa finished it all off with some key steals and 3-pointers.”
The Cliff really got things going in the third quarter of the contest, outscoring Dordt 23-11 over the period. Seven different Chargers scored in the stanza and led 67-47 with 10 minutes to play. Briar Cliff extended its lead to as many as 26 in the fourth quarter before winning by 18.
The Cliff forced 35 turnovers by Dordt and scored 34 points from those opportunities. BC also outscored the Defenders 12-7 in second-chance points.
“Our pressure defense was the key,” added Power. “We took them out of what they wanted to do and were able to capitalize.”
Bailey Beckman was the second best added 14 points for the Defenders and Rachel Evavold had seven board.
Briar Cliff is now 8-19 this season and 5-14 in GPAC play. The team will travel to College of Saint Mary Saturday for the final road contest of the regular season. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
After trailing by 16 in the second half, the Briar Cliff mens basketball team stormed back to take a six point lead of its own Wednesday night against Dordt. In the end, however, the Defenders left the Newman Flanagan Center with a 92-86 triumph over the Blue and Gold.
The Chargers struggled in the first half, hitting just 38% from the field as the team headed to the locker room trailing 45-31. In the opening frame, Briar Cliffs leading scorer was Ethan Freidel with five points. Meanwhile, Garrett Franken had jumped out to 21 points at the break for Dordt. The Cliff was able to slow Franken down in the second half, but he still finished with 30 to lead the Defenders.
Jackson Lamb woke up in the second stanza to put the home squad back in the contest. Lamb would end up leading Briar Cliff with 33 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. The senior would also put himself in the record book as he surpassed Clay Harrelds (16) career mark of 358 made 3-pointers. Lamb ended the night with 5 treys, putting him at 361 for his career, best all-time for the Blue and Gold.
Jaden Kleinhesselink added 13 points for BC and Freidel, the reigning NAIA DII player of the week, finished with 11.
Briar Cliff got eight points each from Austin Roetman and Tony Bonner. Roetman had a pair of slam dunks that sparked some excitement from the fans in the Newman Flanagan Center.
Dordt had a balanced scoring attack with eight players contributing at least six points. Aside from Franken, Marcus Winterfeld was the only other scorer in double figures as he tallied 16. Chandler Brunsting had nine points to go along with nine boards.
After the game seemed to be all Dordt in the first half, the pendulum swung in favor of Briar Cliff midway through the second half. The final 10 minutes proved to be a back-and-forth affair as the game finished with seven ties and eight lead changes.
The Defenders outshot the Cliff in all of the major categories with the visitors hitting on 30-of-66 shots from the field (46%), 11-of-27 3-pointers (41%) and 21-of-25 free throws (84%). Briar Cliff made 31-of-69 field goals while going 10-for-29 on 3-pointers (35%) and 14-for-18 on free throws (78%). The Chargers were just 1-for-3 at the line in the first half.
Dordt also had the edge on the boards with a 41-38 advantage on rebounds. The Defenders hauled in 11 offensive rebounds to BCs 10. Briar Cliff forced one more turnover (11-10), but Dordt had 19 assists to the Cliffs 14. Five players for Dordt finished with three rebounds while the Chargers were led in the category by Kleinhesselink with five. Wil Johnson finished with three assists on the night.
The Defenders, who are receiving votes in the latest national poll, improved to 20-8 with the win and 11-7 in GPAC play. Briar Cliff dropped to .500 on the season at 14-14 with a 5-13 league record.
The Blue and Gold have a full week to prepare for the next contest as the Jimmies of Jamestown are set to take on BC at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, February 19 in the Newman Flanagan Center.
