Women's Basketball 1/20/2011 11:08:00 PM Drake Athletics

Drake Drops Overtime Thriller, 77-74, At Indiana State

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Drake University women's basketball team dropped a 77-74 overtime thriller to Indiana State, Thursday (Jan. 20) at Hulman Center. The Bulldogs fell to 9-8 overall and 3-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Senior Kristin Turk (Des Moines, Iowa) scored 32 points, including all eight of Drake's points in the overtime period, to lead all scorers.

Turk scored five points in a span of 35 seconds to put Drake up three, 71-68, with 3:34 left in overtime. An 8-3 Sycamore run followed, consisting of five free throws and a huge Deja Mattox three-pointer that gave Indiana State a lead it held for the final 1:28 of the game.

“I'm sure it was an excellent game to watch,” said head coach Amy Stephens, who fell to 4-9 all time in overtime affairs, including 1-1 this season. “It was back-and-forth the whole game.”

Twelve ties and 13 lead changes highlighted a game that broke conventional wisdom for this season's Drake squad. The game was Drake's first loss during which it outrebounded its opponent (41-31) and just its second defeat while shooting better than its opponent (46.2 percent to 41.0 percent). In addition, the Bulldogs lost with Turk scoring 20 or more points for the first time.

“We competed,” Stephens added. “I thought our players played extremely hard.”

Junior Rachael Hackbarth (Colgate, Wis.) made amends for a two-point first half by scoring 11 of Drake's first 15 second-half points and almost single-handedly keeping the Bulldogs afloat through the first eight minutes of the frame. Hackbarth fouled out with a minute left in regulation, finishing the game with 15 points.

Fouls and free throws were plentiful for both teams. Drake outscored the Sycamores 17-11 at the line in regulation, but Indiana State leveraged a 6-3 overtime free throw advantage to earn the three-point win. They Sycamores shot just 6-of-12 from the line in overtime, helping Drake hang around until the end.

“We got to the line and made them count when we got there,” Stephens said.

Drake used a 9-0 run to take a 50-44 lead at the nine minute mark of the second half, but Indiana State rebounded to pull within one, 56-55, with six minutes remaining. The teams traded baskets and free throws until the Sycamores missed their chance at clinching the game with seven seconds left in the contest. Indiana State Sophomore Taylor Whitley, who finished the game with 17 points, misfired on a 14-footer at the seven second mark to send the game into overtime.

Freshman Morgan Reid (North Kansas City, Mo.) joined Turk and Hackbarth in double figures with 10 points. Sophomore Kayla Person (St. Louis, Mo.) pulled down a career-high nine rebounds. Freshman Angela Christianson (Alexandria, Minn.) scored six points on 6-for-6 free throw shooting.

The Bulldogs head to Normal, Ill. to take on Illinois State in a Saturday matchup. Tip is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. at Redbird Arena.

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