NORMAL, Ill. – Balanced scoring, unselfish passing and tough defense helped the Drake University women's basketball team defeat Illinois State, 87-36, Sunday afternoon (Jan. 15) in Missouri Valley Conference play at Redbird Arena.
For the second-straight game, Drake (13-4, 6-0 MVC) had all 10 players score at least two points and each one tallied 13 or more minutes in the team's seventh-straight win. Senior
Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) scored a game-high 17 points to go with four assists and three rebounds in just 27 minutes.
Illinois State (4-12, 1-4 MVC) scored a season-low and the 36 points are the fewest by a Bulldogs' opponent this season. The Redbirds shot 22.8 percent (13-of-57) from the floor and 12.1 percent (4-of-33) from behind the three-point line. ISU's shooting percentage, three-point shooting and total field goals are a season-low by a Drake opponent.
Drake finished 34-of-64 (53.1 percent) from the field, made 13-of-20 three-pointers (season-high 65.0 percent) and recorded 29 assists. In their two games this weekend, the Bulldogs had a combined 59 assists and 24 three-pointers.
Sophomore
Sammie Bachrodt (Wichita, Kan.) and freshman
Becca Hittner (Urbandale, Iowa) each scored 12 points for the Bulldogs. Redshirt sophomore
Becca Jonas (Independence, Mo.) added 11 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Junior
Paige Greiner (Williamsburg, Iowa) just missed double figures for the second-consecutive game with nine points on three three-pointers. Greiner and senior point guard
Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) each had five assists.
Drake's defensive pressure and three-point shooting helped give the Bulldogs a 19-13 lead after one quarter. The Bulldogs' forced seven turnovers and scored nine points off the miscues while making a pair of three-pointers.
Drake stretched its lead in the second quarter behind more tough defense and three-point shooting. The Bulldogs forced six more turnovers, scored 11 points off the turnovers and made six threes in the quarter, including two by Greiner. Drake led 47-20 as Illinois State's Brechelle Beachum hit a half-court heave at the buzzer. The seven second-quarter points by the Redbirds tied a then season-low by a Bulldogs' opponent for a quarter. It took the Redbirds nearly six minutes to score their first points of the quarter as the Bulldogs ripped off a 16-0 scoring run during that span.
It was all Bulldogs in third quarter as they limited the Redbirds to just five points. The five points are a season-low scored by a Drake opponent this season. The Bulldogs led by as many as 52 points in the final quarter.
Following Sunday's game, Drake returns to Des Moines to host Loyola on Jan. 20. Tipoff with the Ramblers is set for 7 p.m.
