DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake University women's basketball team is set to host its former longtime Missouri Valley Conference rival, the Creighton Bluejays, Tuesday night at the Knapp Center. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and will be broadcast online The Valley On ESPN3 and on the radio on Praise 940.
Drake improved to 3-0 on the season with a 73-63 home victory over North Dakota Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs overcame a poor shooting performance from beyond the arc (2-of-23) and from the field (25-of-66), using tough defense, ball control and stellar free throw shooting to hold on for the win. Drake forced UND to commit 20 turnovers, committed just eight turnovers and knocked down 21-of-24 from the free throw line.
Junior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) led the Bulldogs with 18 points to go with five rebounds, three steals and two assists. Her performance against UND and earlier in the week at Wisconsin earned her MVC Player of the Week accolades Monday for the second consecutive week.
Creighton is 2-0 with a season-opening win over Wichita State and a big victory over Marist. The Bluejays averaged 84.0 points while holding their opponents to just 50.0 points in the wins. Senior Marissa Janning is second in the nation in assists per game at 9.5 while sophomore Sydney Lamberty leads the team in scoring at 15.5 points.
Creighton departed the Valley back in July, 2013, as Tuesday's game will be the 63rd meeting in the series that started in 1977. Drake leads the series, 38-25, with Creighton winning last season's game in Omaha and Drake taking the game the previous year in Des Moines.
Following Tuesday's game, Drake travels to Las Vegas, Nev., for the 2015 Lady Rebel Round-Up hosted by UNLV. The Bulldogs open the two-day tournament Saturday against Tulsa at 4:30 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on the radio on 1350 ESPN Des Moines.
