CARBONDALE, Ill. - A stellar defensive effort and a
career night from junior forward Rachael Hackbarth powered the Drake University
women's basketball team to a 70-57 Missouri Valley Conference victory over
Southern Illinois Thursday at SIU Arena. Drake improved to 7-6 overall and 1-1
in the MVC. Southern Illinois fell to 2-12 and 0-3 in the Valley.
The Bulldog defense was relentless, forcing Southern
Illinois into low-percentage shots as the shot clock ticked into single digits. Hackbarth (Colgate, Wis.) helped carry
Drake at both ends, registering her second double-double of the season with 18
points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
"Rachael was a beast on the boards tonight," said head
coach Amy Stephens.
Senior Kristin Turk (Des Moines, Iowa) registered 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The
Bulldogs improved to 7-0 when Turk scores 20 or more, compared to 0-6 when she
does not.
Six-straight second half points by Turk helped Drake
extend its lead from 49-46 at the 9:33 mark to 55-46 with 6:50 remaining.
Back-to-back threes by Southern Illinois' Teri Oliver, who had been held
scoreless for the game's first 34 minutes, cut Drake's lead to 57-52 as the
clock hit 5:21.
The Drake defense held Southern Illinois scoreless during
the next five minutes, going on an 8-0 run to solidify its lead and earn the
victory. The Salukis tallied five points during the final 30 seconds, again
behind Oliver, but dropped its third MVC contest of the season.
"It was important to get some separation in the score,"
Stephens added. "That stretch was huge."
The Bulldogs outrebounded the Salukis 48-31 and tallied
13 more points from the free throw line. All active players played at least
nine minutes, with freshman Alyssa Marschner (Minneapolis, Minn.), junior Alex Montgomery (Cannon Falls, Minn.) and senior Ellie Ritscher (Keystone, Iowa)
playing 14, 21 and 10 minutes, respectively.
"I liked our team's resiliency," Stephens said. "We
competed hard and executed beautifully."
Following Angela Christianson's (Alexandria, Minn.) first missed free throw since Nov. 27,
Southern Illinois led Drake, 25-22, at the six minute mark of the first half.
Hackbarth and Turk led the Bulldogs on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to
earn a 30-25 advantage at the 3:58 mark. Drake and Southern Illinois entered
the locker room with score tied, 34-34; a first for the Bulldogs this season.
Drake travels to Evansville, Ind. to take on the
Purple Aces Sunday at 1 p.m.
