DES MOINES, Iowa -
Senior Kristin Turk ended her Knapp
Center career by leading the Drake University women's basketball team to a
65-54 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Creighton Saturday (March 5), in
both teams' regular season finale.
With the win, Drake, which improved to 15-14 overall and 9-9
in the conference, captured the sixth seed in next week's State Farm MVC
Tournament at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. Creighton, which fell to
18-11 overall and 12-6 in the MVC, will be the fourth seed.
The Bulldogs will meet third-seeded Missouri State Friday at
8:35 p.m.
Turk (Des Moines, Iowa) tallied 18 points on 8-of-14
shooting and tied a team-high with seven rebounds in her final home contest.
Junior Rachael Hackbarth (Colgate,
Wis.) totaled a game-high 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting and tied Turk with
seven boards. The junior led Drake in scoring for the third game in a row and
finished the regular season just seven points short of 1,000 for her career.
Both players helped Drake tie a conference season-high with
a .492 shooting percentage.
"I thought our effort was outstanding," head coach Amy
Stephens said. "We really played like a team that wanted to win."
From the 6:57 mark of the first half until halftime, the
Bulldogs outscored Creighton 17-2 and finished the half on a 13-0 run. Creighton
missed 14 of its last 15 shots to close the initial half and trailed Drake,
34-24, at intermission.
Drake extended its run to 21-2 and padded its lead to 38-24
by the 18-minute mark of the second half. Creighton went 9:52 without a field
goal during the Bulldog run.
The Bulldog defense held Creighton to a .302 shooting
percentage; the lowest mark by any Drake opponent this season.
"We played good defense," Stephens added. "We hustled out
there."
Junior Amber Wollschlager (Milbank, S.D.) added eight points in the win. Junior Alex Montgomery (Cannon Falls, Minn.)
added six points and a career-high three assists.
Seniors Turk and Ellie Ritscher (Keystone, Iowa) were honored in a pre-game ceremony that
recognized their contributions to the program.
"It's been such an honor to coach these young
women," Stephens said. "We are very privileged to have these kids in Drake
uniforms."
