DES MOINES, Iowa – A spirited second half showed what was possible when things are clicking for the Drake women's basketball team. It just wasn't enough against a team as loaded as Iowa State.
 
The 12th-ranked Cyclones put the Bulldogs into an early hole with a torrid start and went on to an 87-60 victory at the Knapp Center on Thursday night to remain unbeaten.
 
Drake (1-3) got solid games from freshman Anna Becker and sophomore Maggie Taylor and outscored the Cyclones 42-35 in the second half with an efficient offense that produced a succession of layups. But Iowa State's 34-point lead at halftime left the Bulldogs facing a hill that was steep to overcome.
 
Becker, who had scored only eight points in the two previous games, matched her career high with 22 points while adding eight rebounds, three assists and a steal. She took the ball aggressively to the basket and drew 12 fouls, finishing 10-for-13 at the line.
 
Taylor fell just short of her second double-double of the young season, scoring 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds. Season scoring leader Abbie Aalsma had a tough night shooting the ball, going 5-for-17 and finishing with 11 points. She had been averaging 20.3.
 
Sophomore Grace Knutson, who came in averaging 17.7 points, endured similar frustration, watching the ball on a number of good shots bounce harmlessly off the rim.  She hit only one of 12 shots and scored four points, the first time she has been out of double figures this season.
 
Drake outrebounded the Cyclones 44-37 and finished with a 32-30 edge in paint points. But the Bulldogs were just 3-for-24 on 3-point shots, missing their first nine from deep and never getting into any rhythm on the perimeter. They shot 31.1 percent overall, a season low.
 
Iowa State (6-0), which won its first five games by an average margin of 47 points, had six players score in double figures, led by Audi Crooks with 22 points. It was Crooks' 80th straight game in double figures, a streak that started when she scored 23 in Drake's 85-73 victory over the Cyclones in Des Moines two years ago.
 
Drake had won four of the five previous meetings at the Knapp Center, which had been a nemesis for the Cyclones. Not this time.
 
With the Bulldogs trying to keep the ball from the 6-foot-3 Crooks on the low block, the Cyclones' Arianna Jackson got free on the perimeter and swished four 3-pointers as ISU bolted to a 16-0 lead. Drake missed its first 10 shots before freshman Quinn Vice broke the ice by hitting a 3 from the top of the key at the 5:03 mark.
 
Drake made only one other first-quarter shot, a Taylor bucket inside, and trailed 25-5 at quarter's end, finishing the period 2-for-18 overall and 1-for-10 from deep. A 20-6 run stretched ISU's lead to 45-11 and the Cyclones cruised into halftime up 52-18.
 
Coming out of the break, the Bulldogs started to click, and Iowa State's shots stopped falling. Drake scored the first 14 points of the half, getting eight from Taylor and four from Becker in that stretch. Taylor's trey from the top of the key, her first of the season, drew the Bulldogs to 52-32 and forced an Iowa State timeout.
 
By the time the quarter ended, Drake had outscored ISU 29-16 in the period and the Bulldog fans in the crowd of 4,026 had come alive. It was the most points the Bulldogs have scored in a quarter this season and came on 50 percent shooting from the field and a perfect 12-for-12 at the free throw line. Becker had 11 points in the quarter and Taylor scored 10.
 
Knutson's layup on a nice feed from Becker to start the fourth quarter cut the lead to 68-49, but the Bulldogs got no closer. Iowa State responded with a 17-5 run to make it 85-54, Crooks finishing the burst with a layup, and the starters for both teams soon went to the bench for good.
 
"We knew there would be growth with this team and I'm so genuinely proud of the way this team came out of the locker room at halftime," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. "We have to figure out a way to get out earlier because we've had some slow starts [this year] and it's probably a coaching error. But a lot of things to lean into, especially in the second half. Our bench was so complementary, and tonight was just next person up…these experiences that they all are having now are going to pay dividends on this journey."
 
Drake hits the road to Nashville for its next two games, facing Arkansas on Tuesday, Nov. 25 and Northern Kentucky the next day in the Music City Classic. The Bulldogs will be back in the Knapp Center on Wednesday, Dec. 3 to play Lindenwood. That game tips at 11 a.m.
 
 
Notes

• The Bulldogs fell to 1-3 on the season after Thursday's defeat.
• Drake's 11.1 percent field goal rate in the first quarter marked its lowest shooting effort since a 7.7 percent fourth quarter in a 2022 loss at Loyola Chicago.
• Freshman Anna Becker matched her career high with 22 points to lead the Bulldogs. She also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists.
• Forward Maggie Taylor had 14 points with nine rebounds, narrowly missing her second double-double of the season.
• Abbie Aalsma rounded out the Bulldog double-digit scorers with 11.
• Taedyn Gray came off the bench to snag seven rebounds.
• Iowa State, winning its second straight game against Drake, improved its series record against the Bulldogs to 34-30.