WICHITA, KAN. - Junior guard Monique' Jones (Lee's Summit,
Mo./Lee's Summit North) recorded her third career double-double to lead the Drake
women's basketball team to its seventh Missouri Valley Conference victory with
a 65-50 decision at Wichita State Friday.
Jones grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, along with 12 points to lead the
Bulldogs, who improved to 13-9, including a 7-3 conference mark.
"Monique' set the tone for us tonight,"
said Drake head coach Amy Stephens. "She came out and played a great, well-rounded,
intense game to spark us."
Sophomore guard Kristin Turk (Des Moines, Iowa/Lincoln) led all scorers with 15
points followed by junior guard Jordann Plummer (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal
Ritter), with 14 points, including 11 in the second half.
Rachael Hackbarth added 13 points, while Amber Wollschlager (Milbank,
S.D./Milbank), tallied 11 points in her first career start.
The Bulldogs started the game with a 14-3 run sparked by five points from Turk
and four points from Wollschlager.
Drake held the Shockers scoreless for 7:42 during that run.
The Bulldogs sank five free throws to end the first half, while enjoying 28-17
halftime lead.
Wichita State came within four, 44-40, at the 9:35 mark in the second half
before the Bulldogs went on a 13-0 run, behind nine points from Plummer, to
take a 57-40 lead at 6:08.
Drake shot 39.7 percent (25-of-63) from the field, including 50 percent
(15-of-30) in the second half. The Shockers shot 32.1 percent (18-of-56) for
the game with the Bulldogs holding Wichita State to 22.2 percent (6-of-27)
in the first half.
The Bulldogs topped the Shockers in rebounds (47-35), points in the paint
(22-14), second-chance points (22-8) and bench points (28-8).
"Our effort was smart tonight," commented Stephens.
"I gave them a challenge after the Crieghton game to pay attention to the
little things and we were very attentive to detail tonight."
Drake travels to Missouri State for a 2:05 tip-off with the Bears, Sunday (Feb. 8).