DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team led at halftime over No. 24 Wichita State, but could not hold off the Missouri Valley Conference leaders as the Shockers rallied for a 70-61 win Friday night in front of 2,356 fans at the Knapp Center.
Freshman Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.), who earlier in the week earned her school-record fifth MVC Newcomer of the Week award, paced Drake with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists as she played all 40 minutes for the second time in her young career. Junior Kyndal Clark (Webb City, Mo.) nailed four three-pointers on her way to 18 points, while freshman Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) added 10 points, five boards and three assists.
Alex Harden, the preseason conference player of the year, had a game-high 22 points for Wichita State along with eight assists and seven rebounds. Alie Decker made four three-pointers off the bench and finished with 13 points. Michelle Price was the other Shocker in double-figures with 13.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Bulldogs as they fall to 11-12 overall and 5-7 in the MVC. Wichita State improved its overall record to 21-2 and 12-0 in the conference.
“I'm really proud of how we came out against Wichita State tonight,” said head coach Jennie Baranczyk. “They are a very good basketball program, obviously with 21 wins already this season. They are number one in our conference, but the biggest thing for us is we have to continue to get better and that's something we will continue to aspire to.”
Clark scored the first points of the night with her 75th three-pointer of the season to put the Bulldogs up 3-0 at the 17:21 mark. Clark has 78 three-pointers this season, which is the fourth most in program history and she is just 12 away from the top single-season mark set by former standout Kiersten Miller during the 1996-97 campaign.
Harden's jumper with 6:38 to go in the opening half gave Wichita State its second lead of the game at 17-16. Harden added another jumper to increase the lead to 19-16, before Wendell's and-one tied the score at 19-19 with 4:32 remaining.
Drake went into the halftime break with a 26-25 lead as Clark tallied a team-high nine points and Wendell chipped in seven points, six rebounds and three assists. Wichita State has trailed at the half in just two Valley games as the other occurred in its last game against Loyola on Feb. 9 as the Ramblers held a 30-29 lead.
Wendell and Clark combined for 12 of Drake's 14 points to open the second half as the Bulldogs grabbed a 40-36 lead with just over 15 minutes to play. However, Wichita State used a 15-2 scoring run to take a 51-42 advantage with just over 10 minutes remaining. After the teams traded baskets, Ingle nailed her first three-pointer to trim the deficit to six points at 53-47, but the Shockers answered with a Kelsey Jacob's bucket.
“We had the opportunities, but we just couldn't get the shots to fall,” commented Baranczyk. “I'm not disappointed because we didn't turn the ball over and we didn't panic it was just we missed a couple of shots. They are a great basketball team. Give them credit, but at the same time we aren't going to hang our heads. This team is going to remain hungry.”
Two free throws by Wendell put the Bulldogs back to within six points at 55-49 at the 8:18 mark. It would be as close as Drake would get the rest of the way, as a scoring drought that lasted just over four minutes allowed Wichita State to go up by as 14 points. Ashley Bartow (Sun Prairie, Wis.) ended the scoreless run with a jumper with less than four minutes to play.
Drake didn't back down as they outscored Wichita State, 10-7, over the final four minutes but ultimately ran out of gas and time as the Shockers held on for the win.
Junior Liza Heap (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) had six points, five rebounds and three assists in a career-high 40 minutes. Drake committed just 12 turnovers tonight after committing 22 in the first meeting between the two teams.
The Bulldogs close the weekend with their annual “Hoops 4 Hope” game presented by Mercy Medical Center, taking on Missouri State on Sunday, Feb. 16. The first 3,000 fans Sunday receive a special pink t-shirt and there will be pregame activities on the concourse, including poster making, face painting and the chance for fans to honor the memory of lost loved ones or recognize cancer survivors by placing the names on a large banner. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:07 p.m. and will be broadcast on Mediacom MC22.
