November has hit in the Knapp Center, and the Drake women’s basketball team has a target in mind as they work towards a Missouri Valley Conference and March Madness threepeat. The team welcomed the St. Louis Billikens to its home court on Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. for what would turn out to be quite the matchup.
The Bulldogs were coming off of an 84-78 win over North Dakota State University after a last-minute comeback that brought Drake to a 3-0 overall record for the season and advanced them 1-0 in non-exhibition play.
Drake is currently led by powerhouses Anna Miller, who has recently broken the 1000-point record mark, and Katie Dinnebier, who has also broken a record of her own recently with 500 assists. The team is also welcoming Illinois State University transfer junior Abbie Aalsma, a guard to watch on the court along after being a strong three-point shooter during her time as a Red Bird. Drake was also able to hold onto graduate student Courtney Becker — a valuable player to keep on the roster as she knows how the team and coach blend.
Drake led the first quarter with a narrow 14-12 and some difficult plays that resulted in less-than-ideal ball control. Aalsma led the team with eight points and two of three three-point shots sunk while Becker, Dinnebier and junior Ava Hawthorne all scored two points apiece. The Bulldogs also had four assists and five fast breaks compared to St. Louis’ blank slot on the stat sheet.
Drake also struggled to break away in the second quarter going into the half, filled with fast-paced offensive moves in order to throw off the strong Billiken defense. The second part of the half saw the Bulldogs take a swift last second lead thanks to Miller sinking a three, advancing the score to 37-34 going into the locker room. Miller also led the team with 10 points followed by Aalsma’s eight points and Becker and Hawthorne advancing themselves to six points each.
Overall, Drake barely outshot the Billikens 23-22 for the quarter, while the first quarter they were ahead by two. Although the score had been close to this point, the game was far from over.
“I think we started off slow, but I also think we are a team that knows how to come back well,” Miller said. “We have grit, and it took us a little longer to get there than I would have liked tonight, but I am happy with what we did to fix it. Just something we need to figure out sooner.”
The second half means extra pressure to take the lead and keep it, and the Bulldogs had that goal in mind going into the third quarter. Drake kept the score close yet again until the last few minutes of the quarter when the team managed to break away with a score of 66-58.
Miller once again led the quarter with 17 overall points, and Hawthorne closely trailed her with 16. The team was 2-3 from the free throw line, 50% from three-point shots and 66.7% for field goals. Drake also outshot the Billikens 29-24 for the fourth before going into the last quarter.
In the last 10 minutes of the game, the team battled until the very last minute and came out ahead by more than expected. Miller ended up with 24 points for the game, including 3-5 three-point shots and an 8-15 overall field goal shooting average, while Hawthorne trailed behind with 19 points, 4-5 from three-point shoots and a 70% shooting average in field goals. These two — along with the rest of the Bulldog squad — were able to outshoot the Billikens 29-12 in the fourth quarter, resulting in a 95-70 final score notching the team to a 2-0 season record.
“I love the energy of our team and how we were able to make adjustments throughout the game,” Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. “The second half has been an enormous bright spot for us. I think we did a much better job in the second half of sharing the ball, taking high percentage shots and ball security.”
Pohlman mentioned how the team started slower than they should have, but they were able to put in the work to pull out a win.
“[I am feeling] pure excitement for our next opportunity to grow in November,” Pohlman said. “We need to stay focused on our team, our plan and our chemistry. We are looking forward to another great chance to improve on Monday.”s
Drake then played Creighton on Nov. 11 in Nebraska where they lost to the Bluejays 80-72 before heading into one of the most anticipated games of the season. Former Drake coach Jan Jenson and her University of Iowa Hawkeyes will travel to the Knapp to play against the Bulldogs on Nov. 17 at 2 p.m.
