DES MOINES, IOWA ? On a night when Drake senior Lindsay Whorton (Independence, Mo./Truman) became the Bulldogs' career leader in three-pointers, it was a 18-7 run over the final 4:42 that helped preserve a 75-70 home victory for Drake over Bradley on Thursday (Jan. 24).
Junior Lauren Dybing (Bloomington, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) contributed five of her career- and game-high 21 points in the run to allow the Bulldogs to overcome a six-point deficit and improve to 12-5 overall, including 5-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The loss dropped Bradley to 7-10 on the campaign and 1-5 in league action.
“We did what we needed to do to get a win tonight and I'm proud of our composure and resiliency down the stretch,” Drake head coach Amy Stephens said. “Bradley did a lot of good things but we're excited to get out with a win.”
History was made at the 4:09 mark of the second half when Whorton drained her second three-pointer of the affair, to move into sole possession of first place in school history with her 237th career triple. The three-pointer vaulted her past Julie Rittgers (1991-95), who recorded 236 during her distinguished Drake career.
The Bulldogs were fortunate to come out of the contest with the victory as the Braves jumped out of the gates on fire offensively and three times held a nine-point advantage in the first half.
Drake kept the contest close before taking its first lead of the affair on the play of the game from junior Ashleigh Brady (Lubbock, Texas/Frenship). Brady went up for a layup with 5:27 remaining on the first-half clock and had the shot rejected by Renee Frericks before getting her own offensive rebound and going up again only to again snare the offensive board. The third time proved to be charm as Brady converted the layup while drawing a foul to go to the line, where she converted the free throw to give the Bulldogs a 27-26 lead with 5:22 left before halftime.
The advantage swelled to three before Drake went into the intermission holding a 35-32 lead. The Bulldogs connected on 46.4 percent of their attempts in the first half, while holding the Braves to a 36.4 percent shooting mark.
Drake stretched the margin to as many as seven in the second stanza, before Bradley erased the deficit with a 10-0 run fueled by four points from Devyn Flanagan to assume a 53-50 lead with 8:48 remaining.
The Braves maintained the advantage until senior Jill Martin (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) hit a pair of free throws to start the Bulldog comeback with 4:42 left in the second half.
Three Bradley players finished in double-figures, led by Skye Johnson with 20 points.
A 21-point, career-best nine-rebound effort from Dybing sparked the Blue and White, while Martin and sophomore Jordann Plummer (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Dybing fell one rebound shy of posting the sixth Drake double-double of the season and first of her career.
Nearly recording her first career double-double was Brady, who finished with nine points and a career-high seven rebounds off the bench. Freshman Kristin Turk (Des Moines, Iowa/Lincoln) added seven of Drake's 20 bench points in a reserve role.
Drake finished the affair shooting 46.4 percent, while Bradley nearly matched the number connecting on 45.3 percent of its attempts.
The Bulldogs corralled 38 rebounds to 32 for the Braves. Drake committed 16 turnovers, while forcing Bradley into 13.
An in-state showdown with Northern Iowa looms on Sunday (Jan. 27) for the Bulldogs. Game time is set for 1:08 p.m. with KDSM Fox 17 carrying the contest live.
