Bulldog Basketball Is Back: Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs Win Homecoming Games
Originally published by Cardinal & Cream
The Union University Lady Bulldogs kicked off the Homecoming weekend on Saturday, Oct. 25 at the Fred Delay Gymnasium with a hard-fought 98-72 victory over the UT Southern Lady Firehawks. The men’s team followed with a 93-66 win over the Firehawks.
Coming off of last year’s season run to the NCAA Division II Final Four, the Lady Bulldogs started the first quarter trailing the Lady Firehawks. They quickly gained the lead at the top of the second quarter and kept it until the end, securing a win for the first game of the 2025-26 season.
The men’s team started off the game with a dominating presence, maintaining a lead throughout the game and finishing it off with a pair of slam dunks to cap off an all-around victorious Homecoming weekend for Bulldog basketball.
Junior business major and Lady Bulldog’s shooting guard, Kynidi Mason Striverson, made her return to the court this weekend after missing last season with an injury.
“We’ve been putting in the effort all preseason, and to just see that progress paying off on Saturday, that was really fun,” said Mason Striverson.
“Seeing all the work that the new people have put in and just to be able to come out and play Union basketball was really fun, and the atmosphere was amazing.”
Lady Bulldogs head coach Mark Campbell announced his retirement just before the Homecoming games, planning to step down after the 2025-26 season, bringing his historic 27-year run to a close.
“Coach Campbell and Coach Sean put us in positions to be successful and allow us to carry things out, they trust us,” said Mason Striverson.
“I think last year’s team was an excellent example of just trusting the process and just buying into what they’ve taught us and just carrying that out through the postseason — We’re taking it day by day and just prepping for the team that we want to be in March.”
The Lady Bulldogs will face the Gannon University Golden Knights at the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic in Erie, Pennsylvania on Nov. 7. The Bulldogs play Lynn University in Winter Park, Florida on Nov. 15.
