TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Drake University women's basketball team rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit,
Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) broke a 68-68 tie with a pair of free throws with four seconds left and Indiana State missed two free throws with 0.8 seconds remaining as Drake won 70-68 Friday night at Hulman Center in a hard-fought Missouri Valley contest.
Rhine, who finished with a game-high 19 points, made 1-of-2 free throws to pull Drake (14-4, 6-0 MVC), which trailed 59-47 after three quarters, within one point with just under five minutes in the game. However, Indiana State (9-9, 3-4 MVC) answered with four-straight points, the last on two free throws Alexis Delgado, who scored a team-high 16 points behind four three-pointers. Her free throws came with just under three minutes left on the clock and pushed the Sycamores' lead to five.
However, Rhine scored three consecutive points,
Maddie Monahan (Silver Lake, Minn.) made a layup after a steal and assist by
Sammie Bachrodt (Wichita, Kan.) with 1:40 left to even the score. Indiana State though took the lead once again, 68-66, with 41 ticks to go, this time with two free throws by Ty Battle, who had 15 points. But just four seconds later, Bachrodt, who finished with 12 points, was fouled and made both free throws to tie the game at 68-68. Rhine then made the deciding pair of free throws, but Indiana State had one final timeout and used it to advance the ball to half court.
Off the inbounds, Delgado shot a deep three-pointer with less than one second left on the game clock that was well short, but a hustling Daijah Smith was fouled by Rhine going for the rebound. After an official review determined how much time remained, 0.8 seconds, Smith stepped to the line and missed the first free throw and then the second as time expired. Smith scored 14 points in the loss.
Drake, which led 18-16 after the first quarter, trailed at halftime, 33-28, its first time in Valley action and since the Iowa State game in mid-December. Out of the halftime,
Becca Hittner (Urbandale, Iowa) fueled a rally by scoring 10-straight points, but the Sycamores kept answering the Bulldogs, only letting them get to within two points twice. Indiana State took control of the quarter with a hot-shooting effort by making 9-of-14 shots, including five three-pointers to lead going into final period.
The Bulldogs turned over the basketball 23 times in the game, but had just two in the fourth quarter. Indiana State converted 30 points off Drake's miscues. The Bulldogs scored 21 points off the Sycamores' 26 turnovers.
Following Friday's game, Drake ends its road trip and January at Evansville Sunday afternoon. Tipoff against the Purple Aces is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcasted on ESPN3.
