MADISON, Wis. — Led by 20 points from junior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.), the Drake University women's basketball never trailed in an 89-70 win at Wisconsin on Wednesday evening.
"We have a really tough non-conference schedule and to be 2-0, I'm really excited about that," said Drake head coach Jennie Baranczyk. "For us to come here on the road with a young team — I couldn't be more proud of how everyone came out here and did their part."
Wendell's 20-point outing came via 8-of-11 shooting with four rebounds, two assists and three steals. Freshman Nicole Miller (Walker, Iowa) scored 14 points, including a pair of critical three-pointers in the final 2:30 of the contest to squelch a late Badger rally. Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) and Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) each added 13 points.
"I'm really proud of our experienced players and our freshmen that came in and did some really big things by hitting threes and some things Sammie Bachrodt (Wichita, Kan.) did defensively."
Drake's defense, led by Bachrodt's five steals, held Wisconsin (1-1) to 40.9 percent shooting and just 1-of-14 shooting from three-point range. Nicole Bauman led the Badgers with 18 points.
The Bulldogs led by 10 or more points for the majority of the contest until the Badgers drew within nine points, 77-68, with just under four minutes left in the contest. However, Drake answered that with an Ingle layup and Miller's back-to-back three-pointers off assists from Bachrodt and Ingle to dash the Badgers' comeback hopes.
"The biggest thing for us is we have a style of play and tempo that we want to get fast-break shots and run a motion offense. That's what we do," Baranczyk said. "When we move and pass the ball, really good things happen."
Drake's defense held the Badgers scoreless for the first four minutes of the contest and forced three turnovers to take an early 8-0 lead. The Bulldogs' lead stayed at six or more points for the remainder of the opening period and four points from Wendell in the final two minutes helped Drake to a 17-10 first quarter lead.
Those turnovers were critical to Drake's lead throughout the first two quarters as the Bulldogs scored 22 points off of Wisconsin's 12 turnovers.
Midway through the second quarter, Paige Greiner (Williamsburg, Iowa) drained back-to-back three-pointers to put the Bulldogs up, 30-18. Greiner, who matched a career-high with 12 points on the night, made three shots behind the arc in the quarter and later Wendell and Ingle got in on the act to keep Drake's lead in double-digits.
Wisconsin made four of their five final shots of the half but couldn't keep pace as the Bulldogs drained five-straight shots, including a three-point play from Bachrodt with 11 seconds left to give the Bulldogs a 45-33 halftime lead.
Drake's offense kept its foot on the gas in the the third quarter and an 8-0 run, fueled by two three-pointers in less than a minute, built up a 65-46 lead halfway through the period. That lead was extended to a game-high 20 points, 69-49, at the end of the period before Wisconsin started to trim the margin ever so slightly in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs, who now have wins over Iowa State and Wisconsin to their credit, return home for their next contest on Sunday afternoon against North Dakota. Tipoff at the Knapp Center is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast via The Valley On ESPN3.
