DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake
University women's basketball team used a strong effort on the boards coupled
with tough defense to defeat Chicago State 67-39 Sunday afternoon in front of
1,939 fans at the Knapp Center.
The
Bulldogs used size and hustle to double up on the Cougars in rebounds,
outworking them 58-29 on the boards. Drake held Chicago State to 22.8 percent
(13-of-57) from the field. The mark is the fourth lowest percentage by an
opposing team in the history of the program.
"I thought we attacked great at the beginning of the game," Drake
head coach Jennie Baranczyk said.
"We had a couple charges but I'm okay with that as long as we're attack the
rim. We had an attack mentality today."
The
win snapped a three-game losing streak and improved the Bulldogs to 2-4
overall. The loss dropped Chicago State to 1-5 on the season.
Kyndal Clark (Webb City, Mo.) led
the way for the Bulldogs with a double-double, totaling 11 points and 11
rebounds. Morgan Reid (Kansas City,
Mo.) also had a strong game with 12 points and seven rebounds. Stephanie Running (Oak Creek, Wis.)
chipped in 10 points.
Alyssa Marschner (Plymouth, Minn.)
tallied six points, eight assists, and eight rebounds. Carly Grenfell (York, Neb.), who entered the game shooting a
blistering 61 percent from three-point range, continued her strong shooting,
hitting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc against the Cougars.
Tierra
Williams led Chicago State's efforts with 19 points, hitting 3-of-6 from beyond
the arc. No other Cougar player scored more than six points.
"I thought Kyndal did a great job on the boards today," Baranczyk
said. "What's great about Kyndal is that we can play her at the one and the
two. When we have her and Alyssa in at the same time we get a lot of really
good looks."
Drake
jumped out to a 14-5 lead, capped by Liza Heap's (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) layup.
Chicago State followed with a 10-0 run to take a 15-14 lead. However,
the Bulldogs closed the first half with a 12-2 run, capped by Marschner's
jumper, to take a 26-17 halftime lead.
The
Bulldogs and Cougars traded baskets to start the second half, until the
Bulldogs broke away with a 13-0 run to take a commanding 21-point lead.
"I think we opened up the second half with great energy,"
Baranczyk said. "We really took it at them and picked up our intensity and we
had some great team basketball. I thought today overall was a great team
effort. I'm happy with a positive assist to turnover ratio."
The
Bulldogs play their next game Thursday night at North Dakota State. Tip-off is
set for 7 p.m. in Fargo, N.D. and live stats will be available at
www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com
