Last week, the Drake women’s basketball team played two games, one against the Bradley Braves on Feb. 8 and another on Feb. 10 against the Illinois State Redbirds.
In the Bulldogs’ first game against the Braves, spirits were incredibly high in the Knapp Center, when the Bulldogs got an early 11-point lead before the Braves had put any points up. Drake finished the first quarter with a 20-12 lead. In the second quarter, the Braves battled fiercely to try to take back the lead before the half, but in true Bulldog fashion, Drake withheld a 35-29 lead going into the locker room at the half.
Going into the third quarter, the Bulldogs knew they had to keep the lead going strong, and they wasted no time in doing so. The back-and-forth, high-scoring nature of the third quarter made it exciting to watch, and at the end of the third quarter, Drake still led 53-44, slightly extending their halftime lead.
In the final quarter of the game, suspense was high on both sides as the Braves desperately tried to mount a comeback. Despite those efforts, the final score was 71-60 for Drake, inching the Bulldogs one victory closer to taking the lead in conference standings. This win moved the Bulldogs to 17-5 in the conference, and their next game against the Illinois State Redbirds would present an opportunity for them to possibly take the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference.
When asked how the team played against the Braves, the Bulldogs were nothing short of proud of the win and what it meant for the group as a whole.
“I think we did well,” guard Hannah Nilges said. “Of course, winning in conference play is always the goal, and knowing this game helped us get one game closer to leading the conference is a big boost for us as well.”
On Feb. 10, the Bulldogs took on the Redbirds in the Knapp Center for the Bulldogs’ Pink Out game. This game was extremely important to the team as it honored those struggling, those who have struggled and those who have lost the battle against cancer.
From a conference standpoint, this was also an important game, as the Redbirds beat the Bulldogs on Jan. 27 79-70, and the Bulldogs were hungry for revenge. Both teams were fired up and ready to go come tip off, and this game would prove to be quite the event.
In the first quarter, the Bulldogs once again took an early 11-point lead before the Redbirds managed to find the basket. Even though the teams started off slow, Drake was leading ISU at the end of the first quarter 20-10.
Going into the second quarter, the Bulldogs were ready to capitalize on their lead, and they did just that. When the clock signaled halftime, Drake was up 42-20 against the Redbirds.
In the third quarter, the Redbirds came out ready to go and even outscored the Bulldogs 19-14. At the end of the ten minutes, the score was 56-39 for the Bulldogs. In the last quarter of the game, both teams played strong, and with a 25-23 run by the Redbirds this quarter, Drake was outscored in the second half. After the clock hit zero, the score was 79-64 Bulldogs, and the team could not have been happier with the win.
“To be able to bounce back at home and get ‘redemption’ from our last outing at Illinois State is super important as we continue through our conference season,” guard Katie Dinnebier said. “Not only did we get the conference win at home, but we also won our Pink Game, which to me is much more important as we are playing for a greater cause.”
The Bulldog’s next game will be on Thursday, Feb. 15, against the Murray State Racers at the CFSB Center, where they will continue to build their way into a substantial conference lead.
