DES MOINES, IOWA - A strong first half and a frantic second-half rally weren't enough to power Drake past No. 14 Iowa, Monday night (Dec. 20) at the Knapp Center. The Hawkeyes (11-1) earned a 75-71 victory over Drake (5-5) behind clutch free throw shooting and a double-digit rebounding advantage.

Junior Rachael Hackbarth (Colgate, Wis.) and freshman Angela Christianson (Alexandria, Minn.) combined for a five-point possession that erased Iowa's 71-66 lead and knotted the game at 71 with 1:10 to play. Hackbarth missed a chance for a three-point play at the line, but Christianson scooped up the rebound and made a runner in the lane and the ensuing free throw to complete the five-point possession and tie the game.

"Angela [Christianson] had a big board," said head coach Amy Stephens. "That was a huge play."

Iowa scored the game's final four points, including a jumper by Kamille Wahlin and clutch free throws from Jaime Printy and Kachine Alexander, to hand Drake its ninth-straight setback of the series.

"It was a great effort," Stephens said. "There are certainly positives to take from this game. We are getting better every week."

Hackbarth led all scorers with 27 points, including 14 in the first half, on 12-of-17 shooting. Senior Kristin Turk (Des Moines, Iowa) tallied 17 points, finishing the game two points short of 1,000 for her career. The senior was wide on a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining that would have tied the game and put her over the 1,000-point mark.

"Kristin had a good look," Stephens said. "She had her feet set. It just didn't go in."

Iowa led Drake, 42-30, in the rebounding column and went 17-of-22 from the free throw line compared to Drake's 5-of-8 night from the stripe. The Bulldogs made up for the free throw differential with 18 points off of turnovers, compared to just six for the Hawkeyes. Drake committed a season-low eight turnovers.

"I thought we dug in, got some stops and turnovers and gave ourselves a chance," Stephens said. "We're a pretty happy coaching staff after that effort."

A breakaway layup by Christianson with 20 seconds left in the first half brought the 2,665 people in attendance to their feet and gave Drake its largest lead of the game, 39-32. A single free throw from Iowa's Alexander cut the Bulldog advantage to 39-33 at halftime.

Hackbarth's 14 first-half points tied the best opening-half offensive output of her career. The junior previously scored 14 points in the first half at home against Illinois State on March 6, 2010.