MADISON, WIS. --- Wisconsin took advantage of cold shooting by the Drake women's basketball team to earn a 55-39 victory in the Badgers' home opener Thursday night.

The Bulldogs hit just 36 percent from the floor to open a treacherous three-game road swing which includes stops at Green Bay Saturday and Tennessee Tech Tuesday.

Sophomore guard Kristin Turk (Des Moines, Iowa) came off the bench to lead Drake with nine points.

Junior guard Jordann Plummer (St. Louis, Mo.) and senior forward Lauren Dybing (Bloomington, Minn.) added eight points apiece for Drake, which fell to 1-1.

Clinging to an 18-14 lead, Wisconsin used a 13-3 scoring spurt during a six-minute stretch that included the last two minutes of the first half, to grab a 31-16 advantage.

"We shot poorly and our shot selection wasn't good," said Drake head coach Amy Stephens. "As a result, we grossly underachieved tonight.

"It boils down to ball movement and being aggressive. There were some fundamental things that weren't there tonight. We just weren't sharp. You can't come on road and play like that and think you are going to be successful."

Dybing grabbed a team-high six rebounds for Drake, which was outrebounded, 31-20.

Plummer and freshman guard Brittnye McSparron (Apple Valley, Minn.) collected three assists apiece for the Bulldogs. Drake junior guard Kaniesha Agee (Kansas City, Mo.) had two steals.

The first half was a game of spurts.

After Wisconsin jumped to a 5-0 lead, Drake responded with six straight points. The Badgers reeled off five unanswered points to forge to a 10-6 advantage.

Then it was Drake's turn with a 5-0 turn to take its last lead of the game at 11-10.

After a jump by senior Ashleigh Brady (Lubbock, Texas) gave Drake the 11-10 lead with 8:14 left, the Bulldogs would close out the first half making just one of their last eight shots.

Wisconsin took advantage, going on a 13-3 run to enjoy a 23-14 halftime lead.

"I though there were glimpses during the game of how good we can be," Stephens added. "When you hold a team to 55 points on their home court you usually are going to leave happy. But we could have done better defensively. The effort was good at times but too inconsistent."

Drake shot just 27 percent in the first half, making only six of 22 shots. Drake had combined scoring droughts of 16 minutes 35 seconds in the first half

The Bulldogs also committed 11 turnovers with Wisconsin scoring six points off those miscues.

Drake was coming off an impressive 72-54 season opening victory past Texas State last Friday.

"Our effort was discouraging compared to how well we played in our opener," Stephens added. "We just didn't get it done. We'll watch film, teach and continue to work hard on getting better."