DES MOINES, Iowa – A spirited second-half comeback was not quite enough to pull the Drake women's basketball team out of its losing streak. The Bulldogs chopped a 22-point deficit to four late in the game before Western Illinois escaped with an 80-74 victory at the Knapp Center on Sunday afternoon, sending Drake to its seventh straight loss.
 
Sophomore Grace Knutson and senior Abbie Aalsma led the second-half charge, Knutson finishing with a career-high 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting and Aalsma scoring 22. Aalsma scored 18 of her points in the final two quarters and ended up 9-for-18 from the field after struggling with her shot early in the game. Knutson scored 16 in the second half and knocked down all three of her 3-point tries.
 
Sophomore post Maggie Taylor was active around the basket in one of her best outings for the season. She notched her second double-double with a career high 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds.
 
Drake (1-7) outscored the Leathernecks 48-34 in the second half but was set back by another slow start. The Bulldogs were outscored in the first quarter for the eighth time in as many games and trailed 46-26 at halftime.
 
The WIU lead was 50-28 early in the third quarter when Drake began its comeback with a 16-5 run that included 10 points from Aalsma. The Bulldogs were 0-for-12 from 3-point range before Aalsma and Knutson connected from deep on back-to-back possessions to slice the lead to 55-44.
 
Another Aalsma trey – she finished 4-for-12 from distance – left the Bulldogs trailing 58-47 heading into the final quarter. Western Illinois opened the fourth quarter with six straight points, but Drake roared back again, with Knutson doing the bulk of the work as the Bulldogs reeled off 11 consecutive points to force a Leathernecks' timeout.
 
She swished a trey from the right corner to start the burst, banked in a soft pull-up jumper from in close and a floater off glass to pull the Bulldogs to 63-58 with 6:27 left. WIU (6-1) built the lead back to 67-58, but Knutson and Aalsma weren't finished just yet.
 
Knutson hit another short jumper, Aalsma knocked down a three, and Knutson connected from deep in the right corner, slicing he lead to 70-66 with 1:15 to play.  The Bulldogs got no closer, however. Western Illinois went the final 5:15 without a field goal but sank 10 straight free throws in the last 68 seconds to protect its lead.
"Really proud of our second half and how we handled some of those end-of-game situations," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. "We do wish we were on the other side of that, but it takes guts to step up and knock down some of those shots we did. Had a couple huge momentum shifts in that third quarter run, but certainly some positives and steps in the right direction to get where we need to go."
Drake shot 55 percent in the fourth quarter (11-for-20) to finish at 43.5 percent for the game and ended up making seven of its last 14 3-point shots. The Bulldogs held the Leathernecks to 38 percent shooting over the final three quarters after WIU fired away at a 62.5 percent clip in building a 25-16 first-quarter lead.
 
The Bulldogs did a good job on WIU's leading scorer, holding Mia Nicastro to 14 points and one rebound. She was coming off a 32-point, 18-rebound performance in a victory over St. Francis. Her teammate, Raegan McCowan picked up the slack, making her first 10 shots and scoring 25 points, though only two in the second half.
 
Drake's losing streak is the longest since the Bulldogs lost eight in a row in the 2006-07 season, which ended with a Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament. They'll try again to end the skid when they play at St. Thomas on Saturday, Dec. 13. Tipoff time is 1 p.m in St. Paul.
 
Notes

• Drake, which suffered its seventh straight loss, slipped to 1-7 this season.
• The 7-game losing streak is the longest at the school since Bulldogs lost eight games in a row during the 2006-07 season under coach Amy Stephens
• This also marked the first time Drake has lost four straight home games since the 2006-07 campaign when the Bulldogs suffered four straight MVC home losses to Southern Illinois, Evansville. Illinois State and Indiana State.
• Drake never led in the game. There was one tie at 2-2.
• Drake held Western Illinois without a basket during the last 5:15 of the game. Then the Leathernecks closed the game making 11 of 12 free throws.
• Drake shot 43.5 percent from the floor (27-62) including 53.8 percent (7-13) in the first quarter and 55 percent (11-20) in the fourth quarter.
• Drake outrebounded Western Illinois, 37-33, including a 23-16 margin in the second half.
• Drake tied a season low with one blocked shot
• Sophomore guard Grace Knutson scored a career high with 24 points, including 13 points in the fourth quarter.
• Senior guard Abbie Aalsma added 22 points, including 18 in the second half.
• Knutson and Aalsma combined for 34 of Drake's 48 points in the second half.
• Aalsma made four 3-point baskets, marking the third game she had made three or more treys in a game this season.
• Knutson made all three three-point shots, marking the third time she had made three or more treys in a game this season.
• Sophomore forward Maggie Taylor recorded her second career double-double with a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds, while playing a career high 30:52. Taylor had 11 points in the first half.
• Taylor, who failed to make a basket (one shot) in Drake's last game against Lindenwood, tied a career high with seven baskets.