AMES,
Iowa - The Drake women's basketball team was held scoreless for almost nine
minutes in the first half and never recovered falling to No. 24 Iowa State,
87-45, Tuesday night at Hilton Coliseum. The loss drops the young Bulldogs to
1-4 on the season as the Cyclones improve to 5-0 with the win.
Drake struggled to break Iowa State's defensive pressure, and was
limited to 26.2 percent shooting from the field. Iowa State came into tonight allowing
the fewest points in the Big 12 Conference, as well as having the top-ranked shooting
defense, holding teams to just 28.7 percent. Entering tonight's contest the
Cyclones had held their previous three opponents to an average of 30 points
below their respective season averages.
Sophomore forward Cara Lutes
(Maplewood, Minn.) came off the bench for the Bulldogs and set a new career-high
in points with 19. Lutes' career night
helped the Bulldog bench outscore the Cyclones bench, 34-24. Lutes added five
rebounds in just 17 minutes.
Drake committed 21 turnovers and Iowa State took advantage, scoring
28 points of their points off turnovers. Iowa State outrebounded Drake, 48-34.
The Cyclones used a 13-0 run to take a double-digit lead, 21-7,
early in the first half and never looked back. The young Bulldog squad was held
almost nine minutes without a point by a relentless Cyclone defense that
limited the Bulldogs to just 16.1 percent shooting in the half. In addition to
its strong defense, Iowa State was hot from the field knocking down 17-of-29
(58.6 percent) as they took a 51-13 lead at halftime.
Four players tallied double-digits for the Cyclones, led by leading-scorer
Hallie Christofferson, who posted a double-double with 20 points and ten
rebounds. Anna Prins and Nicole Blaskowski each recorded 17 points, and Nikki Moody
scored 15 points. Moody recorded ten assists for a double-double.
The Bulldogs will look to snap their three-game losing streak
Sunday when they host Chicago State at the Knapp Center. Tipoff is scheduled
for 2:05 p.m. and can be heard on KRNT 1350 AM in Des Moines. Live stats will
also be available at www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com.
