CARBONDALE, ILL. ? Drake went without a field goal over the final 4:02 but its defensive intensity down the stretch ignited the Bulldogs to a 55-52 victory at Southern Illinois on Friday (Jan. 18).
The triumph pushed Drake's winning streak to six games and improved its record to 11-4 on the year, including 4-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Salukis dropped to 6-9, including 2-3 in league play with the loss.
The Bulldogs' conference start is their best since starting the 1997-98 campaign with an identical 4-0 mark.
“We're really proud of way we defended in second half and our team did a nice job of making adjustments and finding a way to win,” Drake head coach Amy Stephens said
After not trailing a once in the first five games of their current win streak, the Bulldogs found themselves in a battle as Drake overcame a nine-point first-half deficit to go into halftime tied at 35-35.
The second half proved to be equally as challenging, as the Bulldogs held a slim 53-50 lead with 21 seconds remaining, before senior Lindsay Whorton (Independence, Mo./Truman) drained a pair of free throws to give Drake a 55-50 advantage.
An uncontested layup by Erin Pauk with 10 ticks left on the clock brought Southern Illinois to within three, 55-52. Whorton had a chance to stretch the margin to four, but she missed on the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the free throw line and Jayme Sweere came down with the defensive rebound.
A block by sophomore Monique'Jones (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit North) of Pauk's three-pointer as time expired sealed the road victory.
Senior Jill Martin (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) led the Bulldogs with 17 points, while Whorton registered seven of her 12 points in the final 20 minutes. The Salukis were directed by a 14-point, 12-rebound effort from Jayme Sweere. Pauk and Erica Smith added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Sophomore Jordann Plummer (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) and junior Lauren Dybing (Bloomington, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) each contributed nine points to the Drake effort.
Rebounding was all square in the contest at 34, with the Bulldogs owning a 12-10 advantage on the offensive glass and Southern Illinois bettering Drake on the defensive end, 24-22.
The Bulldogs committed 15 turnovers, while converting 18 Saluki miscues into 17 points.
Drake finished the affair shooting 37.5 percent from the field, while Southern Illinois tickled the twines at a .429 clip.
Drake concludes its road swing on Sunday (Jan. 20) as the Bulldogs face Evansville in a matinee affair starting at 2:05 p.m.
