Nov. 18, 2011

Box Score

DES MOINES, Iowa - Rachael Hackbarth scored 20 points and Drake rode a fast start to a 63-51 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team Friday night at the Knapp Center.

The Bulldogs (1-2) scored 14 of the first 16 points to take control of the game in knocking off the Panthers (0-2).

Sami Tucker and Kiki Wilson scored 12 points apiece to lead Milwaukee, with Angela Rodriguez chipping in seven points and four steals.

Brittnye McSparron contributed 14 points and Kyndal Clark added 12 for Drake.

"Drake is a very good basketball team and they came out of the blocks strong," Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "The story of the game was that they made shots and we didn't. We defended well - I was pleased with our overall defensive effort. We forced 22 turnovers, but their balanced scoring was the difference. They knocked down some big shots and we weren't able to get our offense going. We missed layups and open shots, but I thought our defense kept us in the game."

The early portion of the game really told the story, with Drake jumping out to a 14-2 lead on a McSparron basket with 14:57 to play. The lead hit 19-5 on a Hackbarth free throw with nine minutes left and 24-9 after McSparron hit a jumper with 6:38 remaining.

Milwaukee sprung to life at that point, with a layin by Rodriguez bringing the Panthers within 26-17 with 3:27 remaining. UWM then crawled to within 30-22 at the break as Wilson converted a layup just before the horn.

"It was definitely a game of runs," Botham said. "I thought we came out of both halves slow and just weren't able to make up enough ground. But it was too little too late - we missed too many crucial shots."

Drake restored its double-digit advantage right away in the second half, scoring eight of the first 11 points to lead 38-25. A basket by Stephanie Running made it 40-25 and the Bulldogs were never seriously threatened from there. Amber Wollschlager's jumper with just under six minutes to play made it 59-40 and both teams made liberal use of their benches after that. The Panthers did score the final seven points of the game.

Courtney Lindfors added six points, five rebounds, tied a career-high with three blocks and set a career-best with four steals. Milwaukee did set a school record in the process, committing just seven turnovers in the contest to top the former mark of eight (set three times) and added 17 steals.

"Our defense is definitely ahead of our offense," Botham said. "We're confident in this team. It's going to take some time, but it's part of the process of the journey we are going through. I am confident that our offense will catch up and we are going to be a team to be reckoned with."

Milwaukee's early-season schedule challenges continue next week, as the Panthers will host Michigan State - which was ranked No. 25 in the preseason poll - Tuesday night at the Klotsche Center.