DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team is set to host Illinois State in a Sunday night contest at the Knapp Center starting at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on The Valley On ESPN3. The matchup with the Redbirds follows a Drake men's home game vs SIU at 3 p.m.
The Drake (11-5, 4-1 MVC) women are coming off an 80-55 win Friday night over Indiana State. The Bulldogs rebounded from poor shooting (34.4 percent) in the first two quarters against the Sycamores to shoot 54.8 percent in the final two while making six three-pointers and a perfect 11-of-11 free throws. For the game, the Bulldogs totaled a 44.4 (28-of-63) percent shooting mark from the field, 36.4 (8-of-22) percent from 3-point range and a stellar 88.9 (16-of-18) percent total from the free throw line.
After scoring just 29 points in the first two quarters and leading by just two points at the break, Drake opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run en route to a 33-point performance in the period as it cruised to its fourth consecutive victory. The Bulldogs scored 80 or more points for the ninth time this season, improving to 8-1 in those games. Drake ramped up its defensive pressure on Indiana State, who made 42.3 percent of its shots in the first two quarters but ended the night at just 32.8 percent from the floor.
Drake was led in scoring by junior
Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo) who tallied a game-high 20 points along with pulling down 10 rebounds to record her fourth career double-double. She also handed out six assists and nabbed two steals. Sophomore
Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) added 14 points and was followed by freshman
Nicole Miller (Walker, Iowa) and junior
Cortni Rush (Mason City, Iowa) with 11 points each. Rush's point total is a season-high, which included shooting 3-of-5 from three-point range and hitting 4-of-6 field goals.
Illinois State (3-12, 1-3 MVC) lost at UNI, 65-51, on Friday evening. Octavia Crump is averaging a team-leading 13.3 points per game while snagging 5.1 rebounds per game. Drake has won the previous three games in series and holds a slim edge, 36-35, in the all-time series that started in 1981.
Drake has a week before its next game when it welcomes travel partner UNI on Sunday, Jan. 24 for a 2 p.m. matinee at the Knapp Center.
