THE SETTING
After snapping a five-game winless streak with a 69-48 victory over Evansville Thursday night, Drake (12-10, 5-7) hosts Southern Illinois (4-18, 3-9) in the annual Hoops 4 Hope Game. Tipoff is at 2:05 p.m., Saturday afternoon in the Knapp Center.
DRAKE BULLDOGS (12-10, 5-7) vs. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SALUKIS (4-18, 1-10)
2:05 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010
Drake Knapp Center; Des Moines, Iowa
Radio: AM 940 KPSZ (Praise 940)
Talent: Scott Pierce (PxP), Laura Leonard (Color)
ABOUT DRAKE
Drake earned a 69-48 victory over Evansville Thursday night, snapping a season-long five-game winless streak and extending a five-game winning streak over the Purple Aces.
The Bulldogs shrugged off their previous second-half struggles to score 32 points and shoot 50 percent (12-24) from the field.
Junior guard Kristin Turk scored 17 points to lead the team for the second-straight game and quell any doubts about her health. Turk's production has steadily increased since she returned from a sprained ankle Jan. 22 against UNI.
DOLLAR DAY
Saturday's 2:05 p.m. matchup with Southern Illinois is Dollar Day at the Knapp Center. All general
admission seats, as well as soda and popcorn, are a dollar.
HOOPS 4 HOPE
Saturday's matchup with Southern Illinois is Drake's annual Hoops 4 Hope game. The team will wear pink jerseys to be auctioned following the game. All proceeds go to fund cancer research.
ABOUT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
The Salukis are 4-18 and 3-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference. SIU has gone 1-7 since topping Drake 80-60 Jan. 14. Its lone win was a 63-56 victory over Wichita State Jan. 30.
Southern Illinois is led by seniors Stephanie Neptune and Christine Presswood. Neptune averages 10.8 points and 10.9 boards per game and is the sole MVC performer that averages a double-double every game.
Presswood is SIU's top scorer and the Valley's third-leading scorer with a 15.3 scoring average.
The Salukis are coached by first-year head coach Missy Tiber.
DRAKE VS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Drake leads the all-time series, 43-24, including 24-6 at home and 10-4 under coach Amy Stephens. Drake is 6-2 in Des Moines against SIU under Stephens. Drake had a five-game series winning streak snapped with an 80-60 defeat in Carbondale, Ill. on Jan. 14 SIU's last win in the Knapp Center was a 49-45 victory on Feb. 16, 2007. The Bulldogs went 20-0 against SIU between 1997-2005, the longest winning streak by Drake against any team in school history.
ALUMNI GAME
Former Drake stars will reunite following the game on Saturday for an Alumni Game on the Knapp Center court. Attendees include Doree Ward, Rita Pedersen (Harmening), Jan Krieger, Connie Newlin, Laura Leonard, Jill Gavin (Uken), Stacy Laven-Huff, Deha Miller (Peyton), Nikole Pock, Lisa VanDeventer (Brinkmeyer), Abby Shimon, Tammi Blackstone, Allyson Kunz (Glazebrook), Megan Wright, Jayme Anderson, Molly Nelson, Betsy Funk, Ja'Nae' Mosley, Natalie Ross (Raub), Linda Sayavongchanh, Ashleigh Brady, Julie Rittgers Sladek, Leanne Buell and Lauren Dybing.
CAREER THIEF
With a first half steal against Evansville, senior guard Jordann Plummer moved into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time Drake steals list with 221. If Plummer can average two a game for the remainder of the regular season, she will match Keisha Cox's fourth-place total of 234.
ALL-TIME STEAL LEADERS
PLAYER YRS STEALS
1. Kay Riek 1980-84 274
2. Linda Sayavongchanh 2002-06 266
3. Jenni Fitzgerald 1986-90 250
4. Keisha Cox 1994-98 234
5. Jordann Plummer 2005-10 221
A NEW MONTH
Despite a 1-2 start to the month, Drake will play four more February contests with history on its side. The Bulldogs are 194-80 (.708) all-time in February, including 24-19 (.558) under Amy Stephens. Drake has posted winning records in 29 of its 35 February slates, including six undefeated months (1978, 1984, 1986, 1997, 2001, 2002).
THE BACK NINE
With regard to the MVC schedule, Drake typically is a slow starter and a strong finisher. Under Amy Stephens, Drake is 28-26 (.518) during the first half of the Valley slate and 35-22 (.614) in “back nine” games. In addition, The Bulldogs registered a 55-35 (.611) first half record and an incredible 64-26 (.711) back nine mark during the last decade (2000-09).
The Bulldogs have equaled or bettered their first-half conference record during the back nine in nine straight campaigns, dating back to 2001.
Drake 69, Evansville 48 - Feb. 11, 2010
DES MOINES, IOWA – Drake used 14 steals and a late scoring flurry to down Evansville, 69-48, Thursday night. The Bulldogs outscored the Purple Aces 29-8 during the game's final 9:30.
The Bulldogs snapped a five-game losing streak while improving to 12-10 overall, including a 5-7 league record.
The Bulldogs capitalized on an 11-0 streak beginning at the eight minute mark. Five quick points from junior Kristin Turk, sparked the run.
Drake relied on a pressure defense to collect seven steals in a four-minute span midway through the first half to break the game open.
Clinging to an 11-10 lead with 12:55 left, the Bulldogs scored 13 unanswered points to move to a 24-10 advantage. Eight of those points were scored off steals including four points by senior guard Jordann Plummer.
The Aces turned a 37-19 Drake halftime advantage into a 48-40 deficit by the 11-minute mark of the second half with a 14-5 run between 15:40 and 11:00. Drake responded with a 16-3 run over the next six minutes that culminated in an Amber Wollschlager jumper and a 64-43 lead.
Southern Illinois 80, Drake 60 - Jan. 14, 2010
CARBONDALE, ILL. – Southern Illinois made a season-high 10 three-point baskets en route to halting Drake's three-game winning streak with a surprising 80-60 Missouri Valley Conference victory.
The SIU victory snapped a five-game Drake winning streak against the Salukis and was its first victory over the Bulldogs since Feb. 16, 2007.
After falling behind by as many as 11 in the first half and entering the half behind by three, Drake battled to even the score at 42 at the 16:50 mark. Southern Illinois responded by going on a 12-0 run during the next three minutes. Sparked by six Drake turnovers, SIU outscored the Bulldogs 21-12 through the 11-minute mark in the second half.
The Salukis used a fast and physical style to hold Drake's outside shooting in-check and extend a 19-point lead by the three-minute mark of the second half. SIU's Christine Presswood scored a career-high 30 points, while teammate Stephany Neptune recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Teri Oliver totaled 25 points on the night. All other SIU players totaled just 10 points for the game.
SIU went on a 10-0 run from 13:26 through the 11:27 mark to extend a 21-10 lead by the middle of the first half. The Salukis scored 10 of their first 21 points off of five Drake turnovers.
Hackbarth broke the run with a jumper in the paint, and scored the first six points of a 10-4 Drake run that cut the Southern Illinois lead to five with 7:30 to play in the first. Plummer, who was held scoreless for the game's first 11 minutes, dropped 11 points in the remaining nine minutes of the first half to pull the Bulldogs within three, 34-37, at intermission.
