Sunday, February 3
Des Moines, IA
2 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
10-10 (3-6MVC)
66
at
94
Drake University
16-5 (8-1MVC)
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Illinois
16
21
9
20
66
Drake
22
24
22
26
94
Photo by: Will Becque
Strong second half pushes Drake past SIU
02/03/2019 | 4:45:00 | Women's Basketball
DES MOINES - The Drake Bulldogs (16-5, 8-1 MVC) used a strong second half performance to defeat the Southern Illinois Salukis, 94-66 Sunday afternoon inside the Knapp Center.
The Salukis (10-10, 3-6 MVC) trailed by nine at the half and were within striking distance, but the Bulldogs outscored the visitors, 22-9 in the third quarter to the build a 22-point advantage. 13 of Drake's 22 points in the quarter came at the charity stripe, as the Bulldogs shot 92.9% (13-of-14) from the free throw line in the stanza. Southern, conversely, made just one of its eight free throw attempts in the quarter.
"We were scrapping away but we missed a ton of free throws and a ton of lay-ups,' sixth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "If we had made those lay-ups and free throws, its a tight ballgame and then we're not putting so much pressure on the defensive end. I thought we did some good things defensively but once we got down, how many runs can you stop? Drake is a very talented team and there's a reason that they have beaten three top-25 teams."
The Bulldogs kept their foot on the figurative pedal, as they made their first eight shots of the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Becca Hittner, the reigning MVC Player of the Year, did most of the heavy lifting for the Bulldogs. Hittner had 20 first-half points and finished with her second-straight 30-point game, as she went for 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
The Salukis were led by Payton McCallister, who tallied 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc. Abby Brockmeyer finished with nine points and nine boards while Kristen Nelson and Nicole Martin each chipped in nine points.
"For three quarters I saw the communication we needed to be better and the effort that we need to be better," Stein said. "I thought we brought it for the most part. We are going to keep working hard, keep positive and we're working on making a run at it but we are a work in progress."
The Bulldogs used good ball movement to find open shooters and seemed to dial up a run whenever Southern tried to rally. Drake, who ranks third nationally in assists, dished out 22 assists on 30 field goals. The back-to-back MVC Champions also shot 61.2% (30-of-49) from the field and turned 17 Saluki turnovers into 19 points.
The Salukis started the game just 1-of-10 from the field and the Bulldogs opened the game on an 8-2 run. Southern came alive, connecting on two of its next three attempts, and used a steal and layup by Nicole Martin to get to within two, 11-9. SIU kept it a single-digit game after a McCallister free throw drew SIU to within four, 20-16 with 1:01 remaining in the first. Drake, however, scored 11-unanswered points to build its first double-digit lead at 31-16 with 8:40 to play in the second.
SIU closed the first half on a 13-4 run, which included seven points from McCallister, to get to within nine, 46-37, at the half.
After the Bulldogs opened the third quarter with a 3-ball, the Salukis got to within 10, 52-42, on a free throw by Celina VanHyfte. Drake went on a 10-2 run over the next 3:53 to build a lead that proved insurmountable.
The Salukis return to the SIU Arena on Friday, Feb. 8 when they host the first-place Missouri State Lady Bears. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
The Salukis (10-10, 3-6 MVC) trailed by nine at the half and were within striking distance, but the Bulldogs outscored the visitors, 22-9 in the third quarter to the build a 22-point advantage. 13 of Drake's 22 points in the quarter came at the charity stripe, as the Bulldogs shot 92.9% (13-of-14) from the free throw line in the stanza. Southern, conversely, made just one of its eight free throw attempts in the quarter.
"We were scrapping away but we missed a ton of free throws and a ton of lay-ups,' sixth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "If we had made those lay-ups and free throws, its a tight ballgame and then we're not putting so much pressure on the defensive end. I thought we did some good things defensively but once we got down, how many runs can you stop? Drake is a very talented team and there's a reason that they have beaten three top-25 teams."
The Bulldogs kept their foot on the figurative pedal, as they made their first eight shots of the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Becca Hittner, the reigning MVC Player of the Year, did most of the heavy lifting for the Bulldogs. Hittner had 20 first-half points and finished with her second-straight 30-point game, as she went for 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
The Salukis were led by Payton McCallister, who tallied 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc. Abby Brockmeyer finished with nine points and nine boards while Kristen Nelson and Nicole Martin each chipped in nine points.
"For three quarters I saw the communication we needed to be better and the effort that we need to be better," Stein said. "I thought we brought it for the most part. We are going to keep working hard, keep positive and we're working on making a run at it but we are a work in progress."
The Bulldogs used good ball movement to find open shooters and seemed to dial up a run whenever Southern tried to rally. Drake, who ranks third nationally in assists, dished out 22 assists on 30 field goals. The back-to-back MVC Champions also shot 61.2% (30-of-49) from the field and turned 17 Saluki turnovers into 19 points.
The Salukis started the game just 1-of-10 from the field and the Bulldogs opened the game on an 8-2 run. Southern came alive, connecting on two of its next three attempts, and used a steal and layup by Nicole Martin to get to within two, 11-9. SIU kept it a single-digit game after a McCallister free throw drew SIU to within four, 20-16 with 1:01 remaining in the first. Drake, however, scored 11-unanswered points to build its first double-digit lead at 31-16 with 8:40 to play in the second.
SIU closed the first half on a 13-4 run, which included seven points from McCallister, to get to within nine, 46-37, at the half.
After the Bulldogs opened the third quarter with a 3-ball, the Salukis got to within 10, 52-42, on a free throw by Celina VanHyfte. Drake went on a 10-2 run over the next 3:53 to build a lead that proved insurmountable.
The Salukis return to the SIU Arena on Friday, Feb. 8 when they host the first-place Missouri State Lady Bears. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
Team Stats
SIU
DU
FG%
.324
.612
3FG%
.320
.412
FT%
.500
.750
RB
33
40
TO
17
22
STL
12
7
Game Leaders
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F/C
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