DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team defeated Missouri Valley Conference opponent Evansville by a score of 94-52 Sunday afternoon at the Knapp Center. The win is the Bulldogs' first MVC win this season as they improved to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
 
Drake was led offensively by junior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) who totaled a game-high 23 points and was followed by sophomore Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) and freshman Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) who tallied 18 points each. Senior Emma Donahue (Naperville, Ill.) had 13 points, five rebounds and three blocks.
 
Drake had five-players tally double figures overall, including junior Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa.) who earned a double-double with 10 points and 14 assists. Rhine recorded her second career double-double adding 10 rebounds. Ingle, who leads the MVC in assists average, finished one below her career-high in a game. She added four rebounds and three steals.
 
"I really couldn't be more proud of our team today, just in terms that it was a tough game, really a tough month, and a tough game for us Friday versus SIU," said Drake head coach Jennie Baranczyk. "For us to come back and play the way we did today took a lot of guts. I think we figured out how we want to play as a team."
 
Evansville (1-12, 0-2 MVC) struggled shooting the basketball finishing at only a 27.9 field goal percentage for the game, but were led by Sara Dickey who totaled 17 points. Erin Sinnott added 10 points off the bench for the Purple Aces.
 
The Bulldogs had 26 points come from their bench, and eight differnt players put points up in the game. Drake totaled 30 assists as a team, and had 64 points from in the paint. Drake finished with a season-high 52 points in the opening two quarters.
 
"We weren't just making the one extra pass for a shot, we were completely setting people up," Baranczyk said. "That's what we were doing today, and that's how we want to play. It was about more of the overall system and less about the assists. We really played as a team today on both ends."
 
"We were controlling the tempo, we were running and making the extra passes. Caitlin found a lot of people in good spots, and we were just moving the ball. 30 assists really speaks for our offense, today was just a fun game," commented Wendell on the stellar play of her point guard, Ingle and the overall unselfishness of the team."
 
Drake missed its first three field goals of the game, but distanced themselves early after making its next eight shots in a row. An 8-0 scoring run allowed them to end the first quarter with a 24-11 lead. In the next period, Drake maintained its lead with a 15-3 run and shutting out Evansville for 4:06 in the second quarter to hold a 52-25 halftime lead.
 
Drake maintained its control in the third and fourth quarter extending its advantage to as many as 47 points and totaling a second-half field goal percentage of 55.9 percent.
 
"Today was awesome, our team brought a lot of energy and when you have 30 assists in a game, our offense is just really working together and it makes it fun. The month of December was rough, and I feel like we got it back on track today," said Dean on her team's win Sunday that snapped a three-game losing streak.
 
Drake will have its first Valley road test when it travels on Jan. 8 to face a Missouri State team that is 9-5 and 2-0 in the MVC. The game will be streamed on ESPN3 and broadcast locally on on the radio on 1350 ESPN Des Moines at 7 p.m.