DES MOINES, IOWA ? A 22-6 Drake run to begin the second half broke open a tight contest as the Bulldogs cruised to a 72-52 home victory over Creighton on Saturday (Feb. 9).
Senior Lindsay Whorton (Independence, Mo./Truman) collected 16 of her game-high 18 points in the final 20 minutes to help Drake snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 14-7 overall and 7-3 in Missouri Valley Conference action. The loss broke a four-game winning streak for Creighton and dropped the Bluejays to 13-8 on the year, including 6-4 in league action.
“I was really proud of our defense,” Bulldog head coach Amy Stephens said. “I thought our defense in the first three minutes of second half and our ability to control the boards allowed us to get transition game going and open the game up. We knew coming in we had to rebound and defend the three-point ball.”
Kristina Voss brought Creighton to within four, 31-27, connecting on a layup to begin the final stanza. From there, the Bluejays went ice cold from the field missing 17 of their next 18 attempts en route to finishing the half shooting just 26.5 percent from the floor.
Drake took advantage of the Bluejays' offensive struggles as Whorton registered seven points in 10-0 run to stretch the Bulldog lead to 41-27 at the 17:38 mark.
Drake expanded the margin to as many as 22 points in the second half on the strength of a 55.6 percent shooting mark in the frame en route to securing the win.
Whorton connected on 6-of-11 shots in the second half, including 3-of-4 beyond the arc to post her 17th double-figure scoring effort of the season. Junior Lauren Dybing (Bloomington, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) added 14 points, while senior Jill Martin (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) notched her league-leading ninth double-double with a 10-point, 11-rebound performance.
Sara Cain paced Creighton with a 10-point, eight-rebound afternoon.
Drake finished the affair shooting 49.2 percent from the field, while limiting the Bluejays to a 30.8 percent effort.
" Today was real testament to the character of our team,” Stephens said. “This was an important game for both teams and we have an opportunity to build momentum with this homestand. We are still in the hunt (MVC title). We must continue to take one game at time and trust the system.”
The Bulldogs became only the second MVC team to win the battle of the boards versus Creighton this season, outrebounding the Bluejays, 44-40. Drake garnered strong support off the bench as the Bulldogs got 23 points from their reserves to only 16 for the Bluejay bench.
Sophomore Jordann Plummer (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) added seven points and nine rebounds for Drake, while freshman Kristin Turk (Des Moines, Iowa/Lincoln) scored seven.
A showdown with league-leading Evansville looms on Thursday (Feb. 14) as the Bulldogs host the Purple Aces at 7:05 p.m.
