Drake, Illinois State, Evansville and Southern Illinois were all victorious on Friday night in women's basketball non-conference action.  The Bulldogs went up 2-0 on the season with a 75-72 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  The Redbirds downed Stony Brook, UE topped Radford at home and SIU picked up its first win of the season over Murray State.  Overall, the Valley was 4-2 to start the weekend.

Drake 75, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 72
Despite a 17-0 second-half run, the Drake Bulldogs overcame multiple obstacles en route to their second non-conference win of the season Friday night over Wisconsin-Milwaukee at home, 75-72. Drake improves to 2-0 on the season.

Each team led by as many as 13 points, but the Bulldogs went on a 12-0 run midway through the second half and scored the final six points of the game for the win.

Ashleigh Brady scored a team-high 22 points for the home-standing Bulldogs, while Brandy Dahir added 19 and Jill Martin 17.

Milwaukee opened the second half trailing by four points and turned that into a 13-point lead at 57-44 with 12:36 remaining in the game by scoring the first 17 points of the half for a 19-0 overall run. Edwards scored the first eight points of the period before Rogers and Johnson added lay ups. Sophomore Turquoise McCain then hit a three and Fournier hit a lay up to make it 57-44.

Brady then hit Drake's first field goal of the half 18 seconds later, before Edwards put UWM's lead back to 13 with a lay up.

Drake then pushed back into the game with a 12-0 run to pull within one at 59-58 on a Jordann Plummer steal and lay up at the other end. The game remained within three points the remainder of the game with Milwaukee owning its final three-point at 72-69 on Edwards' final basket of the night with 1:49 to play.

Martin then hit all four free throw attempts down the stretch and Dahir hit the deciding jumper with 38 seconds to play for the win.

The Bulldogs scored the first nine points of the game and actually had their first 11-point lead just over five minutes into the game on a Kaniesha Agee put-back that made it 13-2. Fournier responded with back-to-back baskets to pull UWM within seven.

Both teams then literally traded baskets for over eight minutes, until sophomore Turquoise McCain hit a put-back layup and Johnson followed with a three-pointer. Drake answered with a jumper before Edwards hit two free throws and Johnson picked up a steal and hit a three-pointer on the other end to make it a two-point game at 35-33.

Milwaukee would fall down by six late in the half, but headed into the break trailing by just four when Onson went coast-to-coast and hit an off-balance jumper with no time remaining.

UWM shot an impressive 57.7 percent, overshadowed only by the Bulldogs' blistering 70.4 percent shooting. The Panthers were 3-of-4 on three-pointers and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line, while holding a 12-8 rebounding edge. DU was 19-of-27 from the field, including 4-of-7 on three's, but went to the free throw line just three times.

Evansville 80, Radford 71
The University of Evansville women’s basketball team used 59.3 percent shooting in the second half Friday to overcome a slow first-half of play and pick up an 80-71 victory over the visiting Radford University Highlanders at Roberts Stadium in Evansville.

After shooting just 28.6 percent in the first half (10-for-35), Evansville came out firing in the second half, connecting on 14 of its first 20 shots in the second stanza to turn a 34-31 deficit into a 66-56 cushion with just over seven minutes to play.  Overall, Evansville hit 16 of 27 attempts in the second half (59.3 percent).  Junior guard Tal Milchan sparked Evansville’s offense in the second half, as she scored a career-high 14 points all after halftime.

Evansville opened the second half by scoring the first eight points of the half to take a 39-34 lead just two minutes into the half.  The Highlanders would answer back though to tie the game at 41-41 with 16:23 to play on a lay-up by Shavon Earp.  That’s when Milchan took over and gave Evansville a lead it would never lose.

Milchan scored six-straight points in the span of 54 seconds thanks to two lay-ups off of steals and a pair of free throws to give Evansville a 47-41 cushion.  The Highlanders would eventually trim the lead back to two points with less than 12 minutes to play, before a three-point play by Shannon Novosel, a lay-up by Milchan, and a three-pointer by Laura Gaybrick would give Evansville a 10-point lead, 59-49, with 10:34 to play. 

The Highlanders would eventually chip away at the lead once again, and trim the cushion to just three points, 72-69, with 1:48 to play, but Evansville finished the game on an 8-2 run to post the 80-71 victory.

Milchan finished the game with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor and a game-high six steals.  Junior guard Rebekah Parker led five UE players in double-figures with 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds.  Sophomores Robyn Jennings and Shannon Novosel also both recorded new career scoring highs with 14 points apiece, while junior guard Courtney Felke pitched in 10 points as well.

Kelli Darden led Radford with 17 points and seven rebounds, including 13 second-half points.  Corrie Fertitta and Earp also reached double-figures with 13 points and 10 points respectively.

With the victory, Evansville improves to 2-1, while Radford drops to 1-2.

Illinois State 73, Stony Brook 63
The outstanding second-half play by Lashawn Johnson, who finished with 12 points, including 10 in the second half, combined with Kristi Cirone’s double-double off 11 points and 10 assists, lifted the Illinois State women’s basketball team over Stony Brook, 73-63, in the opening game of the DePaul Invitational on Friday night. Johnson hit five free throws during a 22-6 finish over the final 5:30 by ISU.

The Redbirds move to 2-1 as the Seawolves drop to 0-2.

Leading all scorers was ISU freshman Kenyatta Shelton with 19, as fellow first-year player Maggie Krick tossed in 13 for the Redbirds.

Stony Brook was led by Mykeema Ford with 17 points and Dana Ferraro who added 12.

Illinois State head coach Robin Pingeton was impressed with the fight that her team showed to regain the lead and secure the win. The ‘Birds trailed 57-51 heading into the final six minutes, but used aggressive defense to come back for the 10-point win.

Despite committing 11 turnovers in the first half, including two in the first minute that resulted in Stony Brook baskets, Illinois State went into halftime with a 31-29 lead. The Redbirds were led by nine first-half points by Shelton, and Krick, who added another eight points for the ‘Birds. Cirone, who missed her first eight field goals, threw in two points on a pair of free throws, while dishing out seven assists in the opening frame. 

Threatened by two turnovers on consecutive offensive possessions, the Redbirds fell to a 4-0 deficit in the first minute, as Stony Brook’s center Jessica Smith connected on a pair of free throws and a layup. But ISU responded, finally taking a 8-6 lead at the 16:16 mark, sparked by baskets from guards Sara Stevenson and Krick.

The Seawolves slowly battled back, led by junior forward Ferraro, who scored six of the next 15 SBU points on jumpers from inside the paint.

ISU’s Crick added a trey, followed by a Shelton hook shot to put the ‘Birds up 31-29 at intermission, despite 11 Redbird first-half turnovers.

Redbird sophomore Nicolle Lewis came out after the half, hitting a layup and blocking a pair of Seawolves’ shots to spark the Illinois State defense. Krick tossed in a layup at the 15:39 mark, drawing the foul and connecting on the free throw, putting the Redbirds up, 40-37. A four-and-a-half minute Stony Brook scoring drought ended with 12:30 left in the game with the Seawolves scoring on consecutive possessions to come within a basket, 43-41.

SBU’s Ford tied the game at 44 on a three-pointer from the top of the key, the first time the score was tied since both teams had 29 points in the first half. Shelton put the ‘Birds back up, 46-44, on the ensuing possession with a turnaround jumper with 10:38 left to play. Stony Brook regained its first lead since the game’s opening minutes, 48-46, on a pair of Cheri Davis free throws. Ford extended the lead to four, 50-46, also draining a pair from the charity stripe, and the Seawolves stretched that lead to 57-51 before the final Redbird run.

Johnson scored five of the Redbirds’ next seven points, dominating the paint for a pair of layups, while also collecting a steal on defense. Shelton then added a pair of jumpers of her own, the second at the 4:12 mark and bringing the ‘Birds within three, 61-58.

Johnson gave the ‘Birds the lead, their first in over five minutes, 62-61, finishing two free throws with 2:09 left to play.

The Redbirds drained 11 consecutive shots from the line to close the game and secure their second win.

Weber State 69, UNI 58
Despite a 28-point effort by senior Tara King (Ottumwa, Iowa/Ottumwa), the University of Northern Iowa women’s basketball team dropped its contest at Weber State tonight, 69-58. 
 
With a season-high King led all scorers, grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals, tying a career high. Senior guard Jessie Biggs (Ottumwa, Iowa/Ottumwa) had 13 points and also eight rebounds.  Junior forward Megan Keefe (Clear Lake, Iowa/Clear Lake) added nine points.  The Panthers were narrowly outrebounded by the Wildcats, 39-38, but forced 16 turnovers, including 10 steals.
 
The Panthers took a quick 2-0 lead in the opening minutes by a King layup. She went on to score six of UNI’s first eight points.   The Wildcats gradually took a six-point lead (14-8) during the first 10 minutes of the first period.  UNI then battled back to take a lead at the 4:04 minute mark with a 12-4 run.  Down by one, King was fouled on a three-pointer and preceded to drain three consecutive shots from the charity strip and Keefe hit a trey to take a 28-22 lead.  However, the tides turned toward Wildcat sophomore center Janie Rayback, who scored the final nine points of the half, giving Weber State a 31-28 lead at the break. 
 
The Wildcats started off the second half with a 7-0 run, clinching a 38-28 lead.  UNI came within five points (56-51) of Weber State with 3:02 remaining in the game when sophomore Kristyn Ferris (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) stole the ball and King drained one from the arc. A series of made free throw shots by the Wildcats put the game out of UNI’s reach in the end, though.
 
The Panthers shot 30.6 percent (19-62) to the Wildcats’ 46.0 percent (23-50) from the field.  Fouls plagued the contest as both teams committed more than 20 and a member of each team was sent to the bench with five.  
 
UNI moved to 0-2 on the season, while Weber State improved to 2-0.

Southern Illinois 77, Murray State 68
Southern Illinois freshman Dana Olsen scored a team-high 24 points, adding five boards and three assists off the bench to lead the Salukis to their first win of the season over Murray State, 77-68, Friday night in SIU Arena.

Southern (1-1) picked up their 16th consecutive victory over Murray State (2-1), handing the Racers their first loss of the season. The Salukis have a 32-4 series edge over the Racers in 36 meetings.

The lead changed five times in the first half, with the Salukis going ahead for good on a layup by Olsen with 1:40 left. A Jayme Sweere jumper at the buzzer gave SIU the 31-28 advantage at halftime.

The Salukis led by as many as 12 in the second half, up 58-46 on a 3-pointer by Erica Smith at the 10:14 mark.

Murray State raced back within two on a 12 to two run with 6:04 left to play. But that's as close as MSU would get, as SIU pulled away down the stretch to secure the win.

Southern shot 56 percent from the field, out-rebounding the Racers 37 to 32.

A 40.9 percent showing from the free-throw line (9 of 22) and some missed layups in the paint kept the game closer than anticipated. The Salukis beat Murray State by nearly 20 points last season, against a virtually identical Racer roster from Friday that returned nine players and all five starters.

Sweere recorded 18 points, six boards, a career-high four blocks and two steals, while Carlai Moore added 14 points and five boards.

The Saluki bench out-scored the Racer bench 35 to 6. Along with Olsen's 24, Smith added eight points, five boards and five assists.

Joi Scott, the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Player of the Year scored a game-high 28 points and 12 boards for the Racers. Amber Guffey and Ashley Nichole Hayes each chipped in 10 points.

Butler 84, Bradley 73
Butler shot 62.5 percent in the second half and broke open a tie game with just over five minutes remaining with a 20-8 spurt to defeat Bradley 85-73 in non-conference women’s basketball action Friday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.

Sophomore Kelly Krumwiede tied the game at 65-65 with a running floater from the right baseline with 5:14 to play, before Ellen Hamilton scored five points to key an 8-1 Butler run that put the Bulldogs ahead 73-66. Hamilton started the run with a layup with 4:57 to go and capped the run with a three-pointer at 3:33 to give Butler a seven point lead at 73-66.

Senior Ashley Chelleen hit a pair of baskets to help Bradley pull to within five points (75-70) with 1:31 remaining. The Braves went 1-for-6 from the field and committed one turnover in the final 91 seconds following Chelleen’s basket and Butler was a perfect 10-for-10 from the line in the closing seconds to seal the 85-73 victory for the Bulldogs.

Junior Devyn Flanagan led Bradley in scoring with 16 points and also added four rebounds and six assists. Krumwiede hit 6-of-7 shots and pulled down a team-high six boards in 28 minutes, while senior Erika Nelson hit 7-of-8 free throw attempts and finished with 14 points and five rebounds. Fellow senior Ashley Chelleen had a season-best 11 points off the bench and moved up two spots on Bradley’s career scoring list passing former teammate Va’Nicia Waterman (645 points) and Carolyn Hagerty (653) into 27th place with 654 career points.

Bradley held a 36-35 lead at halftime and committed just four second-half turnovers, but Butler’s Lade Akande hit 8-of-10 shots and scored 16 of her 18 points in the paint, helping the Bulldogs to a 41-32 edge in points in the paint. Butler shot 50 percent from the field, including 62.5 percent (15-for-24) in the second half, while holding the Braves to 44.2 percent shooting from the floor.

First-team Horizon League pick Jackie Closser had an off shooting night, hitting just 1-of-9 three-point attempts, but finished the evening with 14 points and a game-high 11 assists as four Butler players scored in double figures. Despite Closser’s 1-of-9 from beyond the arc, Butler shot 35 percent from three-point range as a team as the rest of the squad combined to hit 6-of-11 trey’s.