IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team finishes its non-conference schedule Tuesday night with an in-state contest at No. 24 Iowa. Tipoff at Carver-Hawkeye Arena is set for 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on the radio on Praise 940 and available online via BTN2Go (subscription required).
Drake (7-3) dropped its last game at Northern Illinois on Saturday as the Huskies rallied for their first-ever win in the head-to-head series. Junior
Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) scored a game-high 25 points along with pulling down four rebounds and dishing out four assists. Sophomore
Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) added 10 points and a season-high 14 rebounds to record her fourth double-double of the season.
Iowa (9-2) is coming off a 60-53 home win over Bradley Saturday. Junior Ally Disterhoft, the Hawkeyes top scorer at 17.0 points a game, finished with 16 points and five rebounds. The Hawkeyes are led by former Drake head coach Lisa Bluder, who coached Drake from 1990-2000, leading the Bulldogs to three NCAA tournaments and 188 victories.
Drake head coach
Jennie Baranczyk was one of Bluder's first recruits at Iowa and was a three-time captain at Iowa from 2000-04 and helped lead the Hawkeyes to three NCAA tournaments. Baranczyk (Lillis) was an honorable mention All-American in 2003 and a three-time All-Big Ten honoree.
Iowa assistant coaches Jan Jensen and Jenni Fitzgerald were standout players for Drake and each spent eight years on Bluder's coaching staff at Drake. Both have been awarded Drake's prestigious Double D award, which is its highest accolade awarded to former student-athletes. Shelley Till, mother of Hawkeye senior forward Claire Till, and Missy Disterhoft, mother of Ally Disterhoft, played basketball at Drake and were teammates with Fitzgerald and Jensen.
Iowa and Drake had a back-and-forth game last season with the Hawkeyes edging the Bulldogs, 100-98, in the Knapp Center. Wendell poured in a career-high 43 points in the loss as her classmate
Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) had a potential game-winning three-point attempt from near halfcourt fall just short at the buzzer. Drake holds a slight edge in the all-time series, 24-23 that started back in 1974.
Following Tuesday's game, the Bulldogs have an extended break before starting MVC play at the Knapp Center on Jan. 1 as they welcome SIU for a 2 p.m. contest. The New Years Day matinee with the Salukis will be available via ESPN3.
