DES MOINES, Iowa – The energy and excited cheers from thousands of youngsters and a second-half rally were not enough to pull the Drake women's basketball team out of its losing streak.
 
The Bulldogs cut a 19-point first-half deficit to three late in the third quarter, but a Lindenwood heave from beyond half-court blunted their momentum and the Lions went on to hand Drake its sixth straight loss, 68-52 at a noisy Knapp Center on Wednesday.
 
Students from around central Iowa created a lively atmosphere for the annual Character Counts! Day. But a slow start left the Bulldogs (1-6) in an early hole, and they couldn't get all the way back out despite a valiant effort in the third quarter.
 
Freshman Quinn Vice led Drake with 12 points and was the only Bulldog in double figures. She also grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots. Grace Knutson added eight points, three assists and six rebounds and Abbie Aalsma scored seven while enduring a tough shooting day – 3-for-11 overall and 1-for-9 from deep.
 
Brooklin Dailey and Peyton McCabe scored six points each, with McCabe making both of her 3-point shots, and Shannon Fornshell contributed six rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench.
 
With Drake down 31-12 midway through the second quarter, McCabe hit a three from the top of the key to start a 9-2 run that cut the lead to 33-21 at halftime. The Bulldogs continued to chip away at the lead in the third quarter, thanks to 7-for-11 shooting in the period, and when Maggie Taylor sank two free throws after Fornshell kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound, Drake trailed just 47-44 with 1.8 seconds left the frame.
 
But in a span of 61 seconds of game play, the Lindenwood lead was back to double figures.
 
Ten feet short of mid-court, Lindenwood's Aleshia Jones fired the ball toward the rim and it swished through the hoop as the buzzer sounded.  A layup and a 3-pointer in the first minute of the fourth quarter hiked the lead to 55-44 and forced a Drake timeout. The Bulldogs never threatened again and didn't make a shot in the fourth quarter until Vice scored inside with 4:40 left.
 
Drake missed three shots on the possession coming out of the timeout and the Lions continued building on a 19-3 run that took the lead back to 19 with 66-47 with 3:07 left.
 
The Bulldogs managed only three baskets in the final quarter – all by Vice – and shot a season-low 35.3 percent for the game, including 6-for-23 from beyond the arc. The 18 field goals also were the fewest of the season.
 
Drake held Lindenwood (7-2) to 41.5 percent shooting but committed 19 turnovers and the Lions took advantage, building an 18-5 edge in points off turnovers. Lindenwood turned it over only six times.
 
Jones led Lindenwood with 20 points, following up on her MVP performance at last weekend's Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu. The Lions came in averaging nine 3-pointers a game and made eight in this one.
 
Both teams struggled at the start, and no one scored until Lindenwood's Ellie Brueggemann hit a triple a the 6:53 mark in the opening quarter. Aalsma countered with a layup 12 seconds later, but the Bulldogs never led or even pulled into a tie.
 
A 9-3 run gave Lindenwood a 15-7 lead at the end of the quarter and the Lions kept going from there, outscoring Drake 13-3 at the start second quarter to open a 28-10 lead. Gracy Wernli's three-point play stretched the lead to 31-12, leaving the Bulldogs with a long road back.
 
"We keep talking about how there's one quarter where we have lots of success and are focused on the details," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. "As painful as it may or may not sound, we have to find a way to get more consistent scores and put it all together. I said preseason we won't be the same team in November that we will be at the end of the year, so we as a coaching staff and a team need to keep leaning on each other and get things back together."
 
Drake hasn't won since beating Eastern Illinois in the Nov. 3 season opener. The Bulldogs will try to work their way back into the win column when they host Western Illinois on Sunday, Dec. 7. That game tips at 2 p.m.
 
 
Notes

• Losing their sixth straight game, the Bulldogs fell to 1-6 on the season after Tuesday's result.
• The Bulldogs scored just seven points in the first quarter and eight in the fourth, marking their fourth game of the year with at least one single-digit period.
• Drake out-rebounded Lindenwood, 34-29.
• Freshman Quinn Vice led Drake with 12 points and was the only Bulldog in double figures. She also grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots.
• Grace Knutson added eight points, three assists and six rebounds.
• Abbie Aalsma scored seven while enduring a tough shooting day – 3-for-11 overall and 1-for-9 from deep.
• Brooklin Dailey and Peyton McCabe scored six points each, with McCabe making both of her 3-point shots.
• Shannon Fornshell contributed six rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench.
• Drake is now 1-1 all-time against Lindenwood.