IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa women's basketball team held off a fourth quarter rally to beat the Drake Bulldogs by a score of 89-76 on Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
 
Drake (7-4) junior forward Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) poured in a game-high 35 points on 14-of-28 shooting in just 30 minutes. Fellow junior Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) was outstanding running the Bulldogs' offense with a game-high 12 assists to just one turnover while swiping four steals. Freshman Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) added nine nine points, all coming after halftime, to go with eight rebounds while junior Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) had seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
"There was never quit tonight by our team," said Drake head coach Jennie Baranczyk of her team's attitude in its final non-conference game. "That is what we have to take with us going into the Missouri Valley Conference season. Sometimes the shots weren't going in, but what I'm so proud of is we never quit against a very good Iowa team on the road."
 
Iowa (10-2) was led by six players in double-figures with Ally Disterhoft leading the way with 20 points. Megan Gustafson scored 16 points and pulled down seven boards.
 
Wendell has now scored 78 points in the previous two games against Iowa after dropping in a career-high 43 against the Hawkeyes last season at the Knapp Center. Ingle has a 22 assists to just three turnovers ratio in the past two contests with Iowa.
 
"Lizzy did an incredible job of trying to will us to come back tonight," Baranczyk said. "Not every shot went in and there was frustration at times. It's hard when you have a target on your back and no question she had that tonight, but to still come and bring it like she did was phenomenal. Caitlin didn't have the shots fall tonight, but she was great with the 12 assists and Sara really did some great things. We just needed everyone to bring it up just one more notch in having those shots fall."
 
Drake, who fell behind by 20 points with just over three minutes left in the third quarter, fought back with a resilient attitude, trimming the deficit to just eight points on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs outscored the Hawkeyes, 41-38, in the final two periods.
 
Iowa, who knocked down six three-pointers in the first two quarters made just one in the final two quarters. Drake finished with eight three-pointers, led by three by Wendell. Iowa relied heavily on free throws going 26-of-34 in the game, with 17-of-25 in the final two quarters.
 
The game was scoreless nearly two minutes in before Wendell recorded the first points on a layup. Later back-to-back three-pointers by Nicole Miller (Walker, Iowa) and Cortni Rush (Mason City, Iowa) and a pair of free throws from senior Emma Donahue (Naperville, Ill.) helped the Bulldogs take an early 15-14 advantage. Iowa went on a 7-0 scoring run to end the first quarter as it led 21-15 after one period.
 
Iowa went into halftime with a 16-point lead after Tania Davis scored with seven seconds remaining in the quarter. Wendell led all scorers with 16 points while Ingle had seven assists and just one turnover. Each team knocked down six three-pointers.
 
Miller, who was playing just down the road from her hometown of Walker, Iowa, finished with seven points, including drilling Drake's first three-pointer. Miller had a huge turnout of friends, family and supporters from Walker make the trip to Iowa City Tuesday night.
 
Drake begins its MVC schedule at the Knapp Center welcoming the SIU Salukis on New Years Day (Jan. 1) for a 2 p.m. contest. The matinee contest will be broadcast on ESPN3.