Drake overcomes slow start in first exhibition game of the season
Like a pair of new shoes, the Drake women’s basketball team broke in the 2011-12 season with an exhibition victory over Upper Iowa last Wednesday night, toppling the Peacocks 73-49 at the Knapp Center.
The Peacocks took control of the game’s opening tip, and the teams traded possession until Upper Iowa committed its first foul, sending Drake’s Amber Wollschlager, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, to the free throw line. Sinking one of two free throws, Wollschlager’s point marked the inaugural tally for the Bulldogs in 2011-12. Wollschlager had six points on the night.
Upper Iowa responded with a layup, giving the Peacocks a 2-1 advantage. Then, redshirt junior Brittnye McSparron and senior Rachael Hackbarth stepped in with a pair of baskets. McSparron, a 5-foot-5 guard, and Hackbarth, a 6-foot-3 forward, combined for 32 points on the night, with Hackbarth tallying 16 of her team-high 19 points in the first half alone.
An official timeout gave the Bulldogs a moment to regroup and focus their defensive attention on the Peacocks’ Whitney Kieffer, who led Upper Iowa with 17 points and five steals.
“We struggled in the first half,” Hackbarth said. “She (Kieffer) kept going middle, so we had to force her to use her right hand. We did a better job in the second half.”
Drake led by as many as eight points until several rushed plays led to opportunities for Kieffer and the Peacocks, which narrowed the early Bulldog advantage to 25-22. Then, Drake junior Stephanie Running sank a basket to give the Bulldogs a 27-22 lead.
Drake maintained that lead for the remainder of the half as the Bulldogs entered the locker room with a last-second Hackbarth basket to put the team on top, 34-29.
Following halftime, the Bulldogs’ first-game jitters were all but a blip on the radar as several key 3-pointers extended their lead.
Kieffer scored four straight points to start the half. Sophomore Morgan Reid tallied Drake’s first basket of the second half, followed by two free throws from redshirt freshman Carly Grenfell.
It was all Drake from there as Grenfell added two 3-pointers alongside similar efforts from Wollschlager, McSparron, Hackbarth and freshman guard Kyndal Clark, who each added a 3-point basket in the Bulldogs’ triumph.
Despite uneasy play in the first half, the Bulldogs managed a 54.4 field goal percentage, including high marks at the free throw line at 83.3 percent.
“Just getting comfortable,” McSparron said about playing for the first time since coming off an injury last year.
“We have a lot of new people,” she added. “We have a whole new offense and a whole new defense. Once we got comfortable with it, things started clicking in the second half.”
Hackbarth agreed that the team played better in the second half.
“I think in the second half we really buckled down,” she said. “We really let the game come to us and we got after it defensively.”
Hackbarth also said she hopes to stay out of foul trouble this season and to improve as an inside player.
“Our challenge right now is to come out strong, especially defensively,” she added.
Drake is gearing up for the start of the season, hoping that Bulldog fans will pack the stands after last Wednesday’s taste of what is to come.
“They can look forward to high intensity on the defensive end,” McSparron said. “We’re going to push the ball, so it’s never going to be a slow-paced game. We’re going to have some high intensity, fast-paced basketball.”
Drake took on Quincy yesterday afternoon in its final exhibition. Results from that game will be available in the next issue of The Times-Delphic.
The Bulldogs’ first regular season game is this Saturday at Illinois-Chicago. Tip-off is set for 2:05 p.m.
