NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Drake women's basketball took the court in Nashville for the second time in as many days with a similar result. The Bulldogs got out of the gate quickly against Northern Kentucky but could not keep up with the Norse's high-powered offense in a 90-69 defeat to close the Music City Classic.
 
The Bulldogs trotted out an almost entirely new starting five in Wednesday's matinee. Anna Becker was the only remainder from the five previous starting lineups as Peyton McCabe, Brooklin Dailey, Lexi Carlsen, and Quinn Vice all got the nod.
 
Vice drew first blood with a two on the interior, but a pair of NKU (2-6) triples helped the Norse build an early 8-2 advantage. Abbie Aalsma came off the bench to answer with a 3-pointer of her own, ending a scoreless drought of nearly three minutes, before floating in another.
 
The two teams swapped field goals and free throws until an Ava Hawthorne trey off a well-executed flare screen put the Dogs on top by one. The back-and-forth action continued until the end of the opening quarter when Northern Kentucky went up 23-20 on a last-second Taysha Rushton triple.
 
The Norse fed off Rushton's buzzer-beating three as she nailed two more from deep range on the first two possessions of the second stanza. The Norse continued to build their lead, eventually reaching a double-digit difference before Shannon Fornshell came up with an offensive board and subsequent 3-pointer.
 
Northern Kentucky continued to lean on its lethal shooting attack as the Norse created some distance before the halftime break. NKU made six 3-pointers in the first half and held Drake (1-5) to just six points in the second period, going into the locker room leading 46-26.
 
The Drake defense finally found a groove midway through the third quarter, holding the Norse without a field goal for nearly five minutes until Maddie Moody beat the shot clock horn with a cutting deuce.
 
Hawthorne later splashed another three off a Fornshell assist to trim the Norse lead under 20 for the first time in the second half, but NKU had a response for every Bulldog threat. Mya Meredith close the third quarter with a sweeping lefty lay-up, giving Northern Kentucky a 64-39 lead with 10 minutes to play.
 
Drake kept swinging in the fourth quarter despite the steep deficit. Brooklin Dailey found Abbie Aalsma for a three in transition before Hawthorne went to the free throw line and connected on a trey of her own. But the Norse kept swinging back.
 
The Bulldogs outscored Northern Kentucky in the fourth period but could not erase the margin. NKU earned the 90-69 win in the two teams' Music City Classic finale.
 
"We've got to be able to play 40 full minutes," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. "We've put together some great quarters, scored 30 in the fourth quarter and were able to sustain some things early, but then we just have these lulls. We have a lot of maturing and growing up to do…not sure if it's our readiness or our preparation. Every game we're talking about different players contributing…we've had some notable individual efforts but just have to get back to a collective consistency to put it all together."
 
Maggie Taylor led the way for Drake with 16 points. Ava Hawthorne followed with 14 while Abbie Aalsma netted 11 and Brooklin Dailey added 10. Taylor and Hawthorne each snagged six rebounds while a trio of Bulldogs dished out four assists.
 
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Dec. 3 at 11 a.m. in the Knapp Center for their annual Character Counts! Day with over 6,000 area students in attendance.
 
Notes

• Losing their fifth straight game, the Bulldogs fell to 1-5 on the season after Tuesday's result.
• Drake is now 28-21 in multi-team events dating back to 2000.
• Drake outscored NKU 30-26 in the fourth quarter, marking the Bulldogs' highest scoring period of the season.
• Maggie Taylor led the way for Drake with 16 points.
• Ava Hawthorne followed with 14.
• Abbie Aalsma netted 11 and Brooklin Dailey added 10.
• Taylor and Hawthorne each snagged six rebounds.
• A trio of Bulldogs dished out four assists.
• Drake is now 1-1 all-time against Northern Kentucky. Wednesday was the first meeting between the squads since 1979.