WICHITA, Kan. – The Wichita State Shockers knocked off the Drake University women's basketball team, 88-55, Monday night at Koch Arena.
The loss drops Drake to 7-10 overall and 1-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bulldogs were led by their two freshmen as Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) scored 13 points and Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) had 10 before fouling out. Kyndal Clark (Webb City, Mo.) added nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in a game-high 35 minutes played.
“One of the bright spots is look at our two freshmen,” said Drake head coach Jennie Baranczyk on the play of Ingle and Wendell. “They both went 4-of-8 from the field against pressure they have never faced before. Really proud of their effort.”
Wichita State, winners of 13 consecutive games, improved to 14-2 overall and 5-0 in the MVC to remain tied at the top of the conference standings with Indiana State (10-6, 5-0 MVC). The two teams will square off one week from today in Terre Haute, Ind. Junior Alex Harden finished with a game-high 21 points for Wichita State.
The Shockers built a early 13-0 lead at the first media timeout behind hot shooting from the three-point line hitting 3-of-5. The Bulldogs struggled with turnovers as they committed six that led to 11 Shockers' points.
Wichita State extended its lead to 49-22 at halftime. Harden, the preseason MVC Player of the Year, paced all scorers with 15 first-half points including 3-of-3 from beyond the three-point line. Clark paced Drake with seven points, while Ingle chipped in six points off the bench.
Each team pulled down 18 rebounds in the opening half as the Bulldogs grabbed eight offensive rebounds converting 11 second chance points. Drake committed 15 turnovers as Wichita State tallied 28 points off of the mistakes. For the game, the Bulldogs finished with a 39-34 advantage on the glass.
“It was a tale of two halves as I really liked our fight in the second half,” said Baranczyk. “We stepped up and hit more shots here and there. We turned the ball over a few too many times, but I'm happy with winning the rebounding battle. We had 18 second chance points.”
The Bulldogs came out fighting in the second half hitting three of its first five shots. Clark knocked down two free throws to pull within 22 points with just over 12 minutes in the game, but could not get any closer as the defending MVC regular season and tournament champions pulled away for the win.
Drake returns to the Knapp Center for two games next weekend with a matchup against league-newcomer Loyola on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7:05 p.m. The Bulldogs close the weekend against Bradley on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 2:05 p.m. The annual women's basketball alumni game will be played on the Knapp Center floor after the Bradley contest.
