WICHITA, KAN. ? Senior Jill Martin (Norwalk, Iowa, Norwalk) only scored five points in the second half but she saved them for when Drake needed them most as her free throw with nine seconds remaining lifted the Bulldogs to 53-51 comeback victory over Wichita State on Saturday (March 8). The contest was the 1,000th in Drake women's basketball history.
Martin provided Drake its first lead of the second half when she connected on a lay-up with 1:38 remaining to give the Bulldogs a 52-51 advantage.
After Martin missed the second of her free throw attempts with nine ticks remaining, the Shockers had an opportunity to tie or win the game. The Bulldogs played stellar defense on the possession and knocked the ball out of bounds with 0.9 seconds remaining. Wichita State inbounded the ball, but Kyrie Kinder's shot at the buzzer bounced out and Drake remained alive for a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title.
Following Illinois State's 87-72 victory over Evansville, the Bulldogs earned a share of their first regular season MVC title since the 2000-01 campaign and sixth in school history. Drake will share the title with at least the Redbirds and Purple Aces, while a victory by Creighton over Missouri State on Saturday evening (March 8) creates a four-way tie for the regular season crown. It also marked the first time in school history that both the men's and women's basketball teams have won the MVC regular season crown in the same season.
Drake notched its first 20-win season since the 2001-02 campaign and stands at 20-9 overall and finished league play at 13-5. The Shockers fell to 9-21 overall and 3-15 in conference action with the loss.
“I'm very proud of our kids today as they dug down deep and played great defense and rebounded,” Bulldog head coach Amy Stephens said. “Jill (Martin) was phenomenal, and Lindsay (Whorton) hit two big three-pointers to spark the team. I couldn't be more proud of our senior leadership as they willed us to a victory.”
Martin paced all scorers with 27 points and was joined in double-figures by an 11-point effort from senior Lindsay Whorton (Independence, Mo./Truman). Wichita State garnered 10 points from Kiki Stephens.
Drake finished the tilt shooting 39.3 percent, while the Shockers connected on 45.1 percent of their attempts.
Led by eight rebounds apiece from Martin and seven from sophomore Kaniesha Agee (Kansas City, Mo./Pembroke Hill), the Bulldogs outrebounded Wichita State, 35-30.
The contest started out as a back and forth affair as Drake didn't assume its first lead until Martin began a 10-0 Bulldog run with a three-pointer at the 6:58 mark of the first half to put Drake ahead 18-15.
Martin accounted for nine points in the 10-0 run and finished the first half with 22 points, while pulling down six rebounds.
Despite Martin's exploits, the Bulldogs led by only three, 27-24, at the intermission, thanks to a 7-2 Wichita State run to close the first 20 minutes.
Drake finished the initial stanza shooting 44 percent, while the Shockers connected on 42.3 percent of their attempts.
A 5-0 push to start the second half gave the advantage back to Wichita State, a lead it held until Martin's lay-up with 1:38 remaining.
Drake now awaits word on its seeding at next week's State Farm MVC Championship in St. Charles, Mo. (March 13-16). The Bulldogs open play on Friday (March 14) versus a yet to be determined opponent.
