Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011
By Trygve Jensen - Paul Morrison Athletic Communications Fellow
The Drake men's and women's basketball teams opened their doors to the public Thursday at the Drake Basketball Primetime Preview. Excited fans were treated to a scrimmage and skills competitions for both teams, as well as raffles and contests including students. The night was capped with men's coach Mark Phelps challenging women's coach Amy Stephens to a three-point competition. Phelps won 6-5.
Drake student Matt Dybing exhilirated the crowd by winning the Magic Shot competition. Dybing made a layup, a free throw, a three-point shot, and half court shot in order to win a 40-inch flat screen TV, presented to him by Coach Phelps. After barely missing his first two attempts, Dybing sank his third at the buzzer to the roar of the crowd. Dybing's sister, Lauren, was a four-year letter winner for the Drake women's basketball team from 2005-09.
The women's team played its annual Blue & White scrimmage with freshmen Kyndal Clark (Webb City, Mo.), Liza Heap (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Symone Daniels (Memphis, Tenn.) and Cara Lutes (Maplewood, Minn.) meeting the Knapp Center faithful for the first time. In a defensive battle, Blue prevailed by a score of 9-7. Senior Rachael Hackbarth (Colgate, Wis.) led all scorers with 7 points for the Blue.
The scrimmage was followed by a three-point contest between the best sharp shooters from the men's and women's teams. Junior Ben Simons (Cadillac, Mich.) defeated Clark 10-8 in the finals for the victory. Clark had an opportunity to tie the score on her final shot, but the blue and white moneyball rimmed out to seal the victory for Simons. Redshirt Junior Brittnye McSparron teamed with Drake student Jared Frost to claim victory in the hotshot competition.
The slam-dunk competition between members of the men's team was perhaps the evening's most anticipated event. Senior Kraidon Woods (Henryville, Pa.) won over the crowd with a windmill slam, rocking the backboard and shot clock to tumultuous applause. David Smith (Chicago, Ill.) earned runner-up honors while Jeremy Jeffers (Wilson, N.C.), and Karl Madison (Springfield, Ill.) also participated in the contest.
Phelps capped the night with a victory over Stephens on the three-point contest's final shot.
The women's team opens its season at the Knapp Center against Upper Iowa on November 2 at 7:05 pm, while the men will play Quincy on November 5th with an 11 am tip off.
