DES MOINES, IOWA ? Senior Jill Martin (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) led a balanced Drake scoring attack to lead the Bulldogs to their first 2-0 Missouri Valley Conference start since the 2002-03 campaign, with an 83-46 triumph over Wichita State on Sunday (Jan. 6).
The victory was the fourth straight and seventh in the last eight games for Drake, who improved to 9-4 overall, including 2-0 in the MVC. The Shockers fell to 6-9 overall and 0-2 in league play, following the loss.
The 37-point margin of victory was the largest in the 60-game history between the two schools.
“It was a great defensive effort by our team this afternoon,” said Drake head coach Amy Stephens. “I thought our guards really disrupted Wichita State offensively today and I'm really please with how we played, especially on the boards.”
The two sides played nearly even for the first 10 minutes of the affair as the Bulldogs held a 14-11 lead at the second media timeout (11:49). From there, Drake expanded the advantage to 11 points on a 7-0 run to push the lead to 21-11.
Sophomores Monique' Jones (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit North) and Kaniesha Agee (Kansas City, Mo./Pembroke Hill) sparked to run as Jones netted three points before Agee capped the scoring push with a runner with 8:53 remaining.
The lead swelled to as many as 15 points before Wichita State got back-to-back baskets from Kyrie Kinder and Daria Frazier to send the game into the intermission with Drake holding a 36-23 advantage.
The Shockers connected on nearly 46 percent (.458) of their attempts in the first 20 minutes, while the Bulldogs tickled the twines at a .424 clip.
Jones hit consecutive baskets to begin the final stanza and senior Lindsay Whorton (Independence, Mo./Truman) drained a triple for her first field goal of the game to give Drake a 42-25 lead with 17:14 remaining.
Wichita State was never able to recover as the Bulldogs controlled the boards to earn the victory.
Joining Martin in double-figures for Drake was Jones and juniors Lauren Dybing (Bloomington, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) and Ashleigh Brady (Lubbock, Texas/Frenship) with 14, 14 and 11 points, respectively.
The Shockers got 13 and 12 points from the duo of Kiki Stephens and Frazier.
Jones pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, while Whorton distributed a game-best six assists.
Shooting nearly 47 percent (.469) from the field, the Bulldogs held an opponent under 60 points for the sixth straight game. Wichita State connected at 40 percent from the field.
The Shockers committed 28 turnovers in the affair, which Drake converted into 29 points.
A rematch of the 2007 MVC Tournament title game awaits the Bulldogs next as Drake travels to Creighton to battle the Bluejays on Saturday (Jan. 12) at 2:05 p.m. Both teams enter the contest with identical 9-4 overall and 2-0 league marks.
