While most Bulldogs were on an extended winter break or taking a J-term, the women’s and men’s basketball teams were busy traveling the country to take on different opponents, including powerhouses such as Kansas State University and the University of St Thomas. The opposing teams had a combined record of 17-5 over the Dec. 16- Jan. 26 break with only three losses per program.
Starting with the women’s team, head coach Allison Pohlman and the rest of the 13- person roster got straight to work hosting the University of South Carolina Upstate, where senior forward Anna Miller’s younger sister, first-year forward Ava Miller, is writing her own college basketball narrative. The Bulldogs took over the court with an 84-34 win to start off the break, and this game would be followed by another six wins before the team would face its first loss of the break. Despite three losses to stump the eight-game winning streak, the team has been looking forward to the first few weeks of the spring semester and what it could bring to the program.
“They’ve been solid the whole season,” Miller said. “I think the team has succeeded in our transition offense, and I think that will continue to be a focus in the weeks to come.”
Over the span of the season from start to Jan. 23, the team has averaged 19.4 assists a game, with 10 three-point buckets made per game compared to their opponents’ 7.3. The team also has 720 rebounds for the season through Jan. 23 and is up to a 76.4 point average per game and 1375 total points scored this season.
Pohlman also stated similar positives to the team’s dynamics and progress.
“Our team is continuing to trend in the right direction. Our focus is on getting better every day and enhancing our on-court chemistry,” she said.
The women’s team will host the University of Northern Iowa at 6 p.m. on Feb. 1 in the Knapp Center to celebrate the National Girls and Women in Sports Day. It will be an opportunity for fans to support Des Moines’s hometown team doing what the Bulldogs do best.
On the men’s side, the Bulldogs went 9-2 from Dec. 17 until Jan. 26 with a 73-70 win in overtime against Kansas State University to kick off the break. The team went 12-0 for the season before falling to University of Illinois-Chicago 70-74 and Murray State 66-59 before hopping right back into a winning streak.
Drake currently sits at a 17-2 overall record for the season, which as of Jan. 23 gives the Bulldogs the best D1 record in the state of Iowa — above the third team nationally ranked, the Iowa State University Cyclones, who sit at 16-2.
Although the Beacons were 10-7 before going into the game, the team had taken down powerhouses like Indiana State University and Western Michigan University making the Beacons an opponent to stay alert against. When speaking about the Bulldogs 81-71 win over the Valparaiso Beacons on Jan. 22, head coach Ben McCollum broke down the game into its two halves and how the team went about taking on one of the more competitive conference programs that the Beacons have built on both offense and defense.
“We kind of went into the game knowing that Valpo played as hard as anybody in the country,” McCollum said. “Fortunately, that first half we came out pretty tuned in offensively. Hit some shots and defensively I thought we had a very good game plan. Second half they just kind of went to driving down hill and it became difficult to defend. It was almost like the last two minutes of a game for 20 minutes.”
Between the beginning of the season and Jan. 23, the team sits at 1359 total points with an average of 71.5 per game. The Bulldogs have also tallied up 598 rebounds and 172 steals compared to their opponents 110. In addition, Drake sits at 225 turnovers for the season thus far compared to 272 turnovers by opponents. The Bulldogs add to their stats with an average of 17.3 points off turnovers which sits 7 points over Drake’s competition that sits at 10.3 average.
The men’s team competes next at 6 p.m. on Jan. 29 for “Stripe the Knapp” night against the University of Northern Iowa Panthers in the Knapp Center.
Although both teams have a long way to go until the Missouri Valley tournaments and a shot at March Madness, there is still time for both teams to prove their spots on the court.
