(Ann Arbor, MI) - Concordia women's basketball has been preparing to begin their 2024-25 season. The CUAA Cardinals will look to build off their third-place finish in the WHAC last year to make another championship run. Head Coach Elyse Schlump enters her third year at the helm of the program, returning ten players while adding three newcomers to her roster.
2023-24 SEASON REVIEW
CUAA went 20-10 overall with a 17-5 WHAC record last season. The Cardinals won their first ten WHAC contests and finished third overall after the regular season. The team topped Lourdes 79-56 in their WHAC quarterfinal matchup before falling to Siena Heights in the second round.
2024-25 SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
The Cardinals will open their season this Saturday, October 26th, when they travel to Grace College for a 2pm contest.
In November, the team will face Indiana Northwest and Olivet Nazarene at the Indiana Tech Classic. The Cardinals will then face Mount Vernon Nazarene on the road. CUAA will hold their home opener November 14th against Ohio Christian. The team then begins WHAC play with a home contest against UM Dearborn. The Cardinals travel to Lawrence Tech and close the month with a home game against Aquinas.
December starts with a notable exhibition game at NCAA Division I Central Michigan University. The Cardinals then resume WHAC play with a game at Cleary before returning home to host UNOH. The team heads to Lourdes before resting up for Christmas break. The last contest of the month will be a non-conference game at Marian.
January starts with home matches against Defiance and rival Siena Heights. The Cardinals will then have a 2-game road trip to Rochester Christian and Cornerstone University. CUAA will host Madonna and then travel to #12 Indiana Tech. A highlight of the season will see CUAA hosting the Concordia Invitational Tournament (CIT) from January 24-25. The Cardinals face Concordia University Wisconsin on the 24th at 6pm and will also compete on the 25th depending on results. The month concludes with a road contest at UM Dearborn.
In February, the team will host Lawrence Tech and then travel to Aquinas. The Cardinals play host to Cleary and then head on the road to rival Siena Heights and UNOH. CUAA plays a critical home game against #12 Indiana Tech and concludes the regular season by hosting Lourdes.
CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY ANN ARBOR PERSONNEL
Returning Seniors: Abby Long led the offense last year with 17.7 PPG. Julia Hirt notched 6.5 PPG while adding 3.7 RPG. Emily McCalla had 2.4 PPG and 2.9 RPG. Brooke Brauher notched 6.9 PPG and 3.1 RPG. Ellie Kallner had 1.9 PPG and 1.5 RPG. Hannah Vallier recorded 0.9 PPG and 1.1 RPG.
Returning Juniors: Jess Andrew notched 4.0 PPG and 2.0 RPG. Chloe Bisballe had 1.8 PPG with 1.9 RPG. Kendall Harmon provided depth on the roster last season.
Returning Sophomores: Julia Viau added depth to the team last year.
Newcomers: The Cardinals welcome three newcomers to the team including freshmen Avery Collins, Lauren Borsenik, and Ryan Moorer.
Coaches: Head Coach Elyse Schlump is joined by assistant coaches Erica Yost and Eric Salsbury. Brandon Wade will serve as a graduate assistant. Grace Sandlin will be the team's student assistant.
WHAC PRESEASON POLL
The Cardinals were picked third in the WHAC Preseason Poll that was released earlier this month. CUAA picked up 137 points, including one first-place vote.
Indiana Tech was tabbed as the top team in the conference garning 168 points with 12 first-place votes while Cornerstone was second with 143 points. Coming in at fourth was Rochester Christian who recieved 130 points and rounding out the top-5 was Siena Heights with 199 points.
The rest of the poll featured Lourdes (6th, 88 points), Northwestern Ohio (7th, 87), Aquinas (8th, 86), Lawrence Tech (9th, 66), Cleary (10th, 63), Madonna (11th, 46), UM-Dearborn (12th, 34), and newcomer Defiance (13th, 16)