DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team hosted its first of two exhibition games taking on Grand View University on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at the Knapp Center as the Bulldogs cruised by the Vikings by a score of 96-46 in front of 1,929 fans.
Four Bulldogs scored double-figure points, including junior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.), freshmen Nicole Miller (Walker, Iowa) and Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) and sophomore Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) with 22, 15, 14 and 11 points, respectively. Junior point guard Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) just missed double figures finishing with nine points while dishing out seven assists.
Along with Miller and Rhine, freshmen Sammie Bachrodt (Wichita, Kan.) and Madelyne Johnson (Sycamore, Ill.) also appeared in their first games as Bulldogs. Bachrodt started the exhibition and finished with nine points and nine steals while Johnson added four rebounds and three assists.
Senior Emma Donahue (Naperville, Ill.) won the opening tip and scored the contest's first points. Donahue started the game and tallied eight points with three rebounds and three steals.
“I was overall impressed with how the freshmen played,” said head Coach Jennie Baranczyk. “It was nice seeing them and the rest of the team play against another team instead of each other or our gray squad. We did some nice things and there were a few things we will need work on. The great part is we have another exhibition to work on things.”
Tuesday night was the first chance for the Bulldogs to play with the new rule changes, including switching to quarters instead of two halves, implemented in NCAA women's basketball during the offseason. Drake led 32-16 at the end of the first quarter and doubled up the Vikings, 54-27, at halftime. The Bulldogs scored 42 points in the third and fourth quarters while holding Grand View to just 19 points during the same span.
Drake will host its final exhibition contest against Simpson College on Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. before opening the regular season with an in-state matchup with the Iowa State Cyclones on Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. in the Knapp Center.
To buy tickets for this season call 515-271-DOGS (3647).
