The men’s and women’s basketball teams at Drake University are ramping up going into Thanksgiving break, and both Bulldog programs have been battling to get ahead in the Missouri Valley Conference rankings early.
The women’s team took on the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and retired Drake legend Jan Jenson in Iowa City on Nov. 13 for what turned out to be a long battle. The team was outshot by Iowa in all four quarters, and although the team attempted a comeback, they lost 58-100 to the No. 21-ranked program.
Sophomore Grace Knutson led the Bulldogs with 19 points while senior Abbie Aalsma followed closely with 16 points.
“It was a fantastic crowd and atmosphere to be able to play in front of,” head coach Allison Pohlman said. “Getting off to the start we got off to is tough, hard to dig your way out of a hole like that. We did get some great minutes from several people off our bench, and we’re a work in progress. Lots we can take away from this and have to get back to work and get better.”
The men’s team hosted Simpson College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the Knapp Center for two strong games.
The Simpson Storm played the Bulldogs on Nov. 10 for what ended in a strong Bulldog win. Drake had full court power with a 53-22 score going into the locker room at half, which led to the Bulldogs’ 89-51 win overall against the Storm. Redshirt junior Braden Appelhans led the team with 15 points, with senior Jaehshon Thomas chiming in with 14 points.
Drake then hosted SIUE on Nov. 14 in a nailbiter. The Bulldogs were outscored in the first half of the game with a 36-30 deficit before coming back and outshooting SIUE 29-25 in the second. Despite last-second efforts by the Bulldogs to pull through, SIUE won 61-59.
“I told our guys, ‘At the end of the day, this is hard,’” head coach Eric Henderson said. “‘Coming out to talk to you guys is hard. But you have to embrace the hard, and right now it just feels like we want it.’ Not many of these guys were at Drake last year, and I don’t think they understand just yet that we are the hunted. Nothing is going to come easy, and we just want it a little too easy right now.”
The men’s team will now take on the University of Charleston on the road in South Carolina on Nov. 17 before returning to the Knapp Center to host Buena Vista University on Nov. 21 and then taking on the Emerald Coast Classic in Destin, Florida.
On the women’s side, Drake will host the Iowa State University Cyclones on Nov. 20 with a 6 p.m. tip off in the Knapp. The women’s team will then take on the Music City Classic Nov. 25-26 in Nashville, Tennessee, where the team will take on the University of Arkansas and Northern Kentucky University.
