Drake earned its second exhibition win last Saturday when it defeated Quincy 91-64 at the Knapp Center. It was the Bulldogs’ final exhibition before the regular season.
Quincy came out shooting and took an early lead, but Drake responded. After a 9-0 run, Drake took the lead with 13 minutes left in the first half and never trailed again.
After taking the lead, Drake was the better team in all areas of the game, but chemistry might have been the most important factor.
Drake started forcing Quincy into making offensive mistakes, and the Bulldogs turned steals into easy fast break layups, scoring 26 points off turnovers. Quincy had just 13 points off turnovers.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Rachael Hackbarth with a game high 21 points. Four other Bulldogs scored in double digits. Drake Head Coach Amy Stephens was pleased with the balanced attack.
“That makes us hard to guard,” she said. “If [the opposing team] shuts down one or two people, other people can shine through, so just having that balanced opportunity scoring the ball means that on any given night, anybody can lead our team in scoring.”
One of those Bulldogs with double-digit points was freshman Angela Christianson, coming off the bench with 15 points.
“Today’s game was a big confidence booster,” Christianson said.
“Going out and playing in front of a crowd and everyone playing well and winning big really makes us all ready for the regular season.”
Hackbarth, who also led the team in rebounding with 10 boards, agreed with the freshman guard.
“This team is 100 percent ready for the season,” Hackbarth said. “This team has a lot of heart and spirit, and this game got us ready for our first game against UMKC.”
Stephens credits the team’s hard work ethic at practice for its success in the two exhibition games.
“We have had two really great weeks of practice,” she said. “We are getting better defensively and playing really unselfish offense, and it showed in our two exhibition games.”
The Bulldogs open up the regular season this Friday against UMKC at 7:05 p.m. at the Knapp Center.
Photo: Connor McCourtney
