DES MOINES, IOWA ? Three Bulldogs finished in double figures as Drake broke into the win column for the first time this season with an 89-52 victory over Sacramento State on Friday (Nov. 16).
The win propels the Blue and White to 1-2 on the year, while dropping the Hornets to 0-2.
“I'm very pleased with our team defense, our intensity tonight was outstanding and our focus at both ends of the court was much better,” Drake head coach
Amy Stephens commented. “Our defense became our offense tonight and that is what we want. We did a great job going to the boards and I thought Kelsey (Keizer) and Morgan (Herrick) did a fantastic job.”
Drake netted the first four points of the game before the Hornets worked their way to knot the affair at four. From there the Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run fueled by five points from senior
Lindsay Whorton (Independence, Mo./Truman) to assume a lead they never relinquished.
Sacramento State cut the deficit to four, 19-15, at the 9:53 mark when sophomore
Jordann Plummer (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) went on an offensive explosion scoring her own personal 6-0 run as part of a Drake 27-0 skein over 8:39 to push the lead to 31, 46-15.
A running layup by Sami Field-Polisso ended the scoring drought for the Hornets with 1:14 remaining before the half.
The Bulldogs dominated the paint in the initial 20 minutes outscoring Sacramento State, 18-6, while outrebounding the Hornets, 22-14. Seniors
Jill Martin (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) and Whorton paced Drake with 11 and 12 points, respectively.
The Hornets committed 14 first-half turnovers to just four by the Blue and White.
The 46 first-half points were the more than Drake scored in the first half of any game during the 2006-07 campaign and fell six points of shy of the 52 second-half points the Bulldogs netted at Missouri State on Feb. 25, 2007.
The final stanza marked continued hot shooting by Drake as it connected on 41.7 percent of its shots en route to the victory. The Bulldogs were sparked by a 13-0 run highlighted by five points from Martin.
Martin led all scorers in the contest with 18 points in only 15 minutes of action. Joining her with double-digit scoring performances was Whorton and junior
Ashleigh Brady (Lubbock, Texas/Frenship) with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Junior
Kelsey Keizer (Arnolds Park, Iowa/Okoboji) pulled down a team-best eight rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, while freshman
Morgan Herrick (Cedarburg, Wis./Cedarburg) just missed her first career double-double as she registered a nine-point, eight-rebound effort.
The Bulldogs also garnered nine, eight, eight and seven tallies, respectively from freshman
Kristin Turk (Des Moines, Iowa/Lincoln), Plummer, sophomore
Monique' Jones (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit North) and junior
Lauren Dybing (Bloomington, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran).
Sophomore
Kaniesha Agee (Kansas City, Mo./Pembroke Hill) tied Keizer for top-game honors with two blocks. Making their collegiate debuts were freshmen
Katie DeWitt (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) and
Danielle Ford (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley).
A 12-point, nine-rebound evening from Atty Boyer highlighted the night for Sacramento State.
The Bulldogs finished the evening shooting 42.3 percent from the floor and held the Hornets to a 37.7 percent shooting mark. Drake dominated rebounds, 47-31, including 22-11 on the offensive glass. The Blue and White converted those caroms into 32 points in the paint.
Sacramento State committed 25 turnovers, which resulted in 32 Drake points. The Bulldogs turned the ball over only 11 times.
Next on the docket for the Bulldogs is a first-ever meeting with Weber State on Sunday (Nov. 18). Game time is set for 2:05 p.m.
GAME NOTES:? The 34-point margin of victory was the largest by an
Amy Stephens' coach Drake team since defeating Western Illinois by 34 (79-45), on Nov. 12, 2006.
? The 89 points scored by Drake are the most by a Stephens' coached squad in her five seasons surpassing the 87 recorded in a 92-87 double-overtime setback to Indiana State on Jan. 26, 2006. The 89 points are also the most recorded by the Bulldogs since a 95-92 victory at Southern Illinois on Jan. 1, 2001.
? Drake has now cracked the 80-point plateau eight times under Stephens, going 7-1.
? The 37-point margin of victory was the fifth-largest scoring margin in school history.