DES MOINES, Iowa – Sophomore Cortni Rush (Mason City, Iowa) scored a career-high 13 points for the Drake University women's basketball team in a 69-56 loss to the Colorado State Rams Wednesday (Dec. 3) evening at the Knapp Center.
Rush made a career-best four three-pointers as Drake (3-4) made 10 from beyond the arc, while sophomore Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) set her career scoring mark with 19 points. Sophomore Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) added 12 points as she has reached double figures in every game this season.
“[Cortni Rush] didn't second guess herself, she just played the game tonight,” said head coach Jennie Baranczyk of her sophomore transfer who joined the Bulldogs after one season at North Iowa Area Community College. “She's a scrappy player, a blue collar player and an Iowa kid who knows how to shoot the ball and I think that is exactly what she did tonight.”
Colorado State (4-2), who was picked to win the Mountain West Conference in the preseason poll, was led in scoring by Hanne Mestdagh and Dani Nystrom as they each had 18 points.
Mestdagh, who knocked down her first five three-pointers, helped Colorado State lead by as many as 14 points in the first half before Drake slowly chipped away at the deficit.
Trailing, 27-13, at the 10:46 mark, Drake roared back by outscoring Colorado State, 22-8, to close the half as the Rams led, 38-35, at halftime. Rush made her first three three-pointers as she finished with a team-high 10 points.
Rush made another three-pointer at the start of the second half to tie the score at 38-38. Later Ingle scored five consecutive points as the Bulldogs claimed their first lead, 46-44, since early in the game. However, Colorado State grabbed control of the game with a 17-3 scoring run that last just over 10 minutes and provided the Rams a 61-49 advantage with 4:49 to play.
“I thought we did some really nice things tonight and then I think we did some things that we've got to learn from,” Baranczyk said.
Shooting woes plagued the Bulldogs during that span as they made just one of 12 shot attempts.
“We kind of hit a buzz saw there in the second half and I don't know if a lot of that is our youth or if it is coaching adjustments that need to be made,” commented Baranczyk. “We will learn a lot from the game film.”
Colorado State connected on 8-of-12 to start the game, but Drake clamped down on the defensive end as the Rams made just two of their next 10 attempts. The Bulldogs finished the night with a season-low 12 turnovers.
For its next contest, Drake visits Pocatello, Idaho to play Idaho State on Dec. 6 with tipoff set for 3 p.m. central standard time. Last season, the Bulldogs overpowered the Bengals, 78-59, in Des Moines.
