DES MOINES, IOWA ? In a game of inches it proved to be the rebounds that Drake was unable to collect that spelled the difference between the Bulldogs registering a victory over in-state rival Iowa State and ultimately falling to the Cyclones, 58-51, on Sunday (Dec. 9) in the Knapp Center.
Seemingly every key rebound down the stretch went in favor of Iowa State as the Cyclones finished the game outrebounding Drake, 44-33, including 14-9 on the offensive glass.
The loss snapped the Bulldogs' four-game winning streak and dropped the squad to 5-4 on the campaign, while Iowa State improved to 6-1.
Sophomore Jordann Plummer (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) led all scorers in the contest with 17 points. Nicky Wieben directed the Cyclones with 16 points, while Amanda Nisleit and Kelsey Bolte added 11 and 10 tallies, respectively.
"I thought the difference in the game was rebounding,” Drake head coach Amy Stephens said. “Iowa State's opportunity to get second shots really hurt us.”
Despite only registering an 11-9 advantage in second-chance points, it was the rebounding of Iowa State that led to a 34-12 difference in scoring in the paint.
"We took quick, ill-advised shots at times and weren't going to the offensive boards which was a bad combination,” Stephens commented.
As has been its tendency in the past, Iowa State worked hard defensively to take senior Jill Martin (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) and Lindsay Whorton (Independence, Mo./Truman) out of the scoring equation as the Cyclones limited the top two scorers in the Missouri Valley Conference to five and seven points, respectively.
Martin failed to score in double figures for the first time since Feb. 12, 2006 in a 63-62 victory over Creighton, a span off 22 games.
It was the Bulldogs' resiliency in the affair that allowed Drake to consistently use defensive stops to create offensive opportunities in the second half.
"Our defense was terrific. If we can continue to play defense like they we have a chance to win games in the Missouri Valley Conference,” Stephens said.
The Bulldogs trailed by as many as five points throughout the majority of the final 20 minutes before Whorton gave Drake its first lead since early in the affair when she hit a free throw with 5:35 remaining.
The Cyclones answered the Bulldogs' momentum with Alison Lacey draining a three-pointer to give Iowa State a 46-42 lead with 3:25 remaining.
After Whorton hit her second triple of the afternoon to cut the deficit to one, 46-45, Nisleit drilled a three-pointer to stretch the margin to four, 49-45, with 2:04 left in the game.
Drake chipped the lead down to three on three straight free throws by Martin, but it was six tosses at the charity stripe in the final two minutes that secured the victory for Iowa State.
“With five minutes to go it was anyone's game,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. “We were fortunate to make three big shots in a row. Getting out of here with a wins is really good."
The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 31.3 percent from the floor, while the Cyclones tickled the twines at a .393 clip.
Sophomore Monique' Jones (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit North) had a strong game for Drake as she collected nine points, while equaling junior teammate Kelsey Keizer (Arnolds Park, Iowa/Okoboji) with a team-high six rebounds. Junior Ashleigh Brady (Lubbock, Texas/Frenship) provided a scoring spark off the bench as she scored eight on 3-of-6 shooting.
The first half was symbolic of a game of runs as Drake began the contest scoring the first eight points before Iowa State rallied with 11 unanswered tallies of its own to assume an 11-9 advantage.
The Cylones maintained the lead the remainder of the half thanks in large part to their rebounding strength as Iowa State outmuscled the Bulldogs on the boards, 23-18, in the initial 20 minutes.
Drake made just one basket out of nine shots in the last 8 minutes 48 seconds of the first half allowing Iowa State to expand a 13-12 lead into seven points on two occasions.
The Cyclones bottled up Martin in the first half, as she was limited to two points on 1-of-4 shooting. Plummer picked up the Bulldog offense as she contributed eight first-half points.
Iowa State used its rebounding advantage to outscore Drake in the paint, 20-4.
The 58 points by Iowa State were the lowest total scored by the winning team in the Drake-Iowa State series since the Bulldogs earned a 57-43 victory in Ames, Dec. 11, 1992.
The Bulldogs now close out the road portion of their non-conference slate with a game at Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday (Dec. 13) beginning at 7:00 p.m.
