Story from Hastings College Athletics
In a contest to decide the #3-seed in the upcoming GPAC tournament, Hastings knocked off #11 Concordia, 81-71, on Saturday afternoon.
Concordia scored the first six of the game, then Hastings scored eight of the next 10 points to tie it at eight, as junior Bailey Kissinger and sophomore Josilyn Miller each scored twice. Sophomore Adyson Mlnarik hit their first three of the game at the 4:21 mark, the first of her eight straight Bronco points. Hastings got a couple of runouts and a last-second basket by senior Mariyah Avila to build a 24-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs got an early two, then the two teams would go on a scoring drought, with Avila ending the cold stretch with a three-pointer with 6:32 left. Leading 30-26, Miller banked in a three at the expiration of the shot clock, but Concordia answered right back with a three of their own. Mlnarik made her third and fourth triples of the half in the final three minutes, as the Broncos led 43-33 at the half.
Senior Macy Bryant and Miller scored the first two bucks for Hastings in the third quarter. Leading 47-37, sophomore McKenna Yates rebounded a Bulldog miss and threw a dime to Avila in transition for a layup. With a 14-point advantage, Yates pulled up for a deep three to take a 56-39 lead with 4:12 left. Concordia cut the lead to 12 at the end of the quarter, outscoring Hastings 8-2 down the stretch to make it 59-47.
In the fourth, Bryant scored inside and Mlnarik hit her fifth three to go up 17. Back-to-back Concordia threes trimmed the lead to 11 with 8:24 left. The Bulldogs got within nine at the line, but baskets by Yates and Avila pushed the lead back to 13. Concordia cut the lead to nine again, but Bryant hit a three to extend the lead at the 4:12 mark. Leading by 10 with two minutes left, Concordia got a layup. Yates and Kissinger would put the game at the foul line, as Hastings won it, 81-71.
Hastings shot 43 percent from the field and held Concordia to 40 percent. Hastings had a 51-38 edge on the glass and forced 21 turnovers.
Mlnarik had 22 points off the bench, shooting 5-11 from three-point range, and added four rebounds. Miller had 13 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Avila contributed 13 points, seven assists, and four steals. Yates ended with nine rebounds and five assists, while Kissinger had 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Bryant had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, as well as three assists and two steals.
Up next, Hastings will host #6-seed Northwestern at 7pm in the GPAC quarterfinals on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
