SAN ANTONIO, Texas – In the first-ever meeting between the Drake University women's basketball team and Fordham University, the Bulldogs rallied for a 62-56 win over the Rams, on Sunday (Nov. 30) afternoon to close out the 2014 UTSA Thanksgiving Classic.
Sophomore Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) led Drake with 14 points, including knocking down two key three-pointers, as the Bulldogs earned their third consecutive win to move to 3-3 on the season.
Freshman Becca Jonas (Independence, Mo.) collected her first career double-double as she scored 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Sophomore Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists along with nabbing a career-high five steals.
Hannah Missry paced Fordham with 17 points in the loss as it snapped a four-game winning streak by the Rams, who fell to 4-3 overall.
In a back-and-forth contest that featured 14 lead changes and seven ties, it was Drake that swung the necessary momentum late to grab control and pull away for the victory.
Drake down, 50-47, with 5:36 to play in the game, first got a jumper from Ingle before one possession later Wendell drilled her second and biggest three-pointer of the game to push Drake back in front, 52-50, with 3:41 remaining.
Wendell's three-pointer was made possible by a clutch offensive rebound by Carly Grenfell (York, Neb.), who pulled down a missed three-pointer by Liza Heap (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) to keep the possession alive as the Bulldogs never relinquished the lead down the stretch.
A 8-0 scoring run capped by back-to-back three pointers by Heap and Paige Greiner (Williamsburg, Iowa), gave the Bulldogs a 45-38 advantage, but the Rams answered with eight straight points to take a 46-45 lead. Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) stopped the Fordham run with a tough runner.
Drake used balanced scoring to start the game as seven different Bulldogs scored two or more points in the first 10 minutes of action to claim a 19-15 lead.
Dean extended Drake's lead to 24-18 after she connected on a jumper with six minutes left in the half. However, the Bulldogs' offense struggled after that as Jonas was the only player to score in the remaining six minutes as Fordham led 29-28 at halftime.
Drake returns to the Knapp Center to host Colorado State on Dec. 3 at 7:05 p.m.
