The Drake women's basketball team starts the road portion of the 2015-16 season on Wednesday night when it plays Wisconsin in Madison, Wis. at the Kohl Center. The game will start at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on BTN2Go (subscription required) and on the radio on 1350 ESPN Des Moines.
Drake (1-0) opened the season with a 74-70 victory over the Iowa State Cyclones on Sunday afternoon at the Knapp Center. The Bulldogs led by 10 points with 2:42 to go, but had to fight off a late charge from Iowa State (1-1) to earn its first victory over the in-state rival since 2009.
Two Bulldog freshmen had big games in their debuts as Nicole Miller (Walker, Iowa) finished with 13 points, including making four free throws in the final minute to help seal it, to go along with two rebounds, two assists and one block. Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) had 15 points and four rebounds.
Junior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) paced Drake with 16 points after being limited to just two points at halftime. Wendell added four rebounds, four steals and three assists in 27 minutes. On Monday, she won the first Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors of the young season for her performance. Sophomore Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 board and added a career high six assists. Senior Emma Donahue (Naperville, Iowa) made her first career start and finished with seven points, a career-high eight rebounds and four assists along with a career-tying four blocks. Drake had 36 points from its bench.
Wisconsin started the season with a 79-65 win over visiting Louisiana Tech on Saturday as four Badgers recorded double figures.
Wednesday's game is the 14th meeting all-time between Drake and Wisconsin and the fifth matchup in the previous five seasons. The Bulldogs hold a slight edge over the Badgers, 7-6, including taking last season's game in Des Moines by a score of 89-77.
Following Wednesday's game, Drake returns to the Knapp Center to host North Dakota on Sunday at 2 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on The Valley On ESPN3.
