BY HANNAH COHEN
Drake women’s basketball tacked on another win to their season record against Creighton (2-4) to give them a 7-1 season so far before heading back to the Knapp. Just before this win, the Associated Press named Drake No. 24 on their top 25 list in the women’s college basketball poll.
“It’s cool to get recognized at the national level,” forward Becca Jonas said. “We’re really excited about it and it puts a bigger target on our back for games to come.”
On top of this honor, forward Sarah Rhine was again named the MVC’s basketball player of the week for the third consecutive week. Her season three-point percentage is tied at its high to her 2015-16 season and field goals stand over .500 with only eight games on the board.
Drake took on Creighton for its fourth game in seven days with guard Becca Hittner scoring a season-high of 23 points and making her career 1,000-point mark with her first of three successful three-pointers in the game as the 32nd player in women’s basketball history to hit this milestone.
“I thought we did a good job,” Jonas said. “They went on their runs and we went on ours and kept it steady on both ends on the fort.”
In the first quarter, the Bulldogs came out with a 16-9 lead that lasted throughout the rest of the match. Both teams added 20 to their scores in the second, and Creighton scored four more than Drake in the third, making it a mere 58-55 game Bulldogs going into the fourth.
“We’ve proven over and over again that we can make great plays [and pull out a win],” forward Monica Burich said. “It was really focusing on the little things. We have a lot of faith in ourselves and our teammates.”
The Bluejays couldn’t get ahold of Drake in their close trail in the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs again dominated outscoring and almost doubling Creighton 27-14 that quarter. Drake took off running getting their largest lead of the game, 71-58.
Sammie Bachrodt, guard, earned her season-high of nine rebounds to aid Drake’s defense and keep Creighton to a .250 field goal percentage. Bachrodt was announced as one of the NCAA 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award candidates on Nov. 30.
This honor of a nomination is given to 60 student athletes across the U.S. who demonstrate excellence on the court of D1 basketball and stand out in the four areas of community, classroom, character and competition. She meets these requirements through having completed over 1,000 volunteer hours in her first three years at Drake, being one of 13 candidates with over a 3.5 grade point average, started all 108 games in her career, holds multiple MVC titles and is eighth in Drake basketball history for steals and just 55 points away from scoring 1,000.
“It’s definitely well deserved, she’s proven herself to be an amazing basketball player over her four years,” Jonas said. “She’s a good student. We all get out into the community and she leads that so I’m really happy for her.”
The Bulldogs go on the road to face South Dakota State (4-3) Dec. 8 and Iowa State (6-1) Dec. 16. They return to the Knapp Dec. 21 to face the University of Iowa (5-2).