PEORIA, Ill. – The Drake University women's basketball team never trailed in a 94-71 win over the Bradley Braves on Friday night at Renaissance Coliseum. Drake opened the game with tough defense and hot shooting as it coasted to its sixth win in its last seven games to move 13-12 overall and 7-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Junior Kyndal Clark (Webb City, Mo.) knocked down six three-pointers to finish with 20 points. Clark has made 90 three's this season, which equals the top single-season mark in Drake women's basketball history set by former standout Kiersten Miller during the 1996-1997 campaign.
Freshman Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) poured in 25 points along with seven assists, two assists and two steals. Wendell has scored 20-plus points in seven games in her first season as a Bulldog. Clark has reached 20-plus points in a team-leading nine contests in her junior year.
Freshman Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) tallied her second career points/assists double-double with 15 points and 11 assists. Ingle is the only the MVC player to record a points/assists double-double this season.
“I liked the way we shared the ball tonight with 27 assists on 35 field goals,” said Drake head coach Jennie Baranczyk. “Look at our two freshmen with 18 assists between the two of them and Caitlin with another points/assists double-double, her second of the year. She is the only player in The Valley to have one this season. You are talking about a freshman in a very good conference with many great point guards. Very impressive.”
Drake raced out to a 12-2 lead at the first official timeout of the night and didn't look back leading by as many 31 points with nearly 10 minutes remaining. The Bulldogs never let the lead dip below 20 points in the final half.
Drake led 45-23 at halftime. Wendell paced all scorers with 15 points, while Clark added 11 points. Carly Grenfell (York, Neb.) chipped in six points on two three-pointers.
Drake ended the night with a 55.6 percent (35-of-63) shooting percentage, while drilling 15 three-pointers. In the squad's first win over Bradley on Jan. 26 at the Knapp Center, Drake hit a school-record 17 three-pointers. The 15 three-pointers tonight set a Renaissance Coliseum record.
“We ran our motion offense and tried to get better,” Baranczyk said. “They ran multiple defenses at us with some man defense and some motion. We did a great job of getting good looks, but we did have some turnovers from the change-ups they threw at us. That's something we need to get more consistent on and eliminate those mistakes.”
Nine Bulldogs scored in the game and the team finished the first half at 62 percent (18-of-29) from the field and 54 percent (7-of-13) from beyond the arc.
Drake limited Bradley to just 23 points in the opening half, the fewest points the Bulldogs have allowed in a half all season. The Braves made just nine field goals, while committing 12 turnovers that led to 14 points for the Bulldogs.
Drake pays a visit to new Missouri Valley Conference member Loyola on Sunday (Feb. 23) with tipoff slated for 2 p.m.
