Drake, the preseason no. 1 pick in the Missouri Valley Conference, was led by a double double from Jill Martin as the Bulldogs opened the 2006-07 season with a decisive 79-45 victory over Western Illinois at the Knapp Center.  Southern Illinois and Missouri State both fell in non-conference action in other games around the league on Sunday.

Drake 79, Western Illinois 45
The Drake women's basketball team opened its 2006-07 campaign in resounding fashion as the Bulldogs (1-0) registered a 79-45 victory over Western Illinois (0-1) on Sunday (Nov. 12) in the Knapp Center.

The 34-point victory margin represented the third largest in school history in a season opener, bettered only by the 1981-82 (36 points over Wisconsin) and 1976-77 (63 points versus Clarke) Drake teams.  The 79 points scored by the Bulldogs was the most tallied in a season opener since recording 85 versus Marquette on Nov. 16, 1998, while the 45 points surrendered marked the fewest scored by an opponent in a season lidlifter since limiting Northwestern to 35 on Nov. 24, 2002.

Led by a game-high 23 points from senior Jill Martin (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk), Drake finished the affair tickling the twines at nearly 51 percent (.508) while holding the Westerwinds to a .320 shooting mark.  The Bulldogs forced 22 Western Illinois turnovers while outrebounding the opposition, 41-35, including 27-21 on the defensive glass.

The Blue and White took early control of the contest as the team hit six of their first eight shots to begin the game on a 13-2 run.  Martin proved to be the catalyst as she chipped in seven of her 16 first-half points, including a three pointer during the run.  The Westerwinds managed to cut the deficit to four, 13-9, with 14:34 remaining in the first half but that proved to be as close as they got with the Bulldogs stretching the margin to as many as 20 points en route to entering the intermission with a 43-23 advantage.

Six different Drake players inked the scoring column in the first 20 minutes as the Bulldogs connected on nearly 55 percent (.545) of their shots from the floor.  The Blue and White dominated the paint as they outscored Western Illinois, 26-8.  Drake converted 13 first-half turnovers by the Westerwinds into 19 points.

WIU connected on its first two shots to begin the final stanza to cut the lead to 15, 43-28, but a 25-2 run by the Bulldogs over the next 10:42 iced the victory for Drake.

A 23-point, 10-rebound effort by Martin provided her with the 26 double-double of her career.  Joining her with double-digit scoring efforts were juniors Lindsay Whorton (Independence, Mo./Truman) and Brandy Dahir (Carrollton, Texas/Creekview) along with sophomore Jordann Plummer (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) with 15, 14 and 13 tallies, respectively. Plummer dished out a career-high six assists without committing a turnover.  Sarah Miller paced Western Illinois with a 10-point performance.

Netting their first collegiate points in the triumph were freshmen Kaniesha Agee (Kansas City, Mo./Pembroke) and Michelle Anderson (Camden Point, Mo./North Platte), who each connected on second-half baskets.

On the strength of her 10 rebounds, Martin moved past Amy McDermott (1978-82) into ninth place all-time on the Drake career rebounding list.

The Blue and White improved their record in home openers to 26-7 with the win and upped their ledger to 21-12 in all season lidlifters.

Missouri 71, Southern Illinois 60
The Southern Illinois women's basketball team, down by nine points at half-time, went on a 16 to six run with 12:44 left in the game to take a 55-50 lead over Missouri, but couldn't hold on as the Tigers bounced back to spoil a season-opening victory in front of a record crowd at SIU Arena Sunday afternoon, 71-60.

Sunday's attendance of 3,367 broke the all-time single-game record at SIU. The previous record of 2,003 was set in 1989 at a match up between Southern and Wichita State.

SIU won the boards 34-31 and shot 46 percent from the field, but had trouble finishing some key lay-ups and free throws late in the game.The Salukis had three starters with four or more fouls, including Jasmine Gibson who played only 18 minutes with foul trouble early. The sophomore forward scored 12 points before fouling out with 4:38 left in the game.

Mizzou went to the charity stripe 30 times, converting 24, while Southern shot just six of 12 from the free throw line.

The Tigers put four players in double-figures, including Tiffany Brooks who scored a game-high 19 points, including 15 in the first half.

Carlynn Savant and EeTisha Riddle chipped in 14 each, while Alyssa Hollins came of the bench to add 13. Riddle also added a game-high 12 boards.

Carlai Moore led the Salukis with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the second double-double of her career.

Saluki freshman Dana Olsen, in her first collegiate game, was five of six from the field with 11 points and four boards. Jayme Sweere added nine points, six boards, four assists and two steals.

Seton Hall 62, Missouri State 55
The Seton Hall women’s basketball team capture the consolation championship at the WBCA/Metrosports Classic on Sunday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium with a 62-55 win over Missouri State. The Pirates’ offense was led by senior Heta Korpivaara (Espoo, Finland) who scored a game-high 22 points.  

The Pirates erased a four-point halftime deficit thanks to a stifling defensive effort that held MSU to 25 percent shooting after the break and a nearly flawless offensive effort from Korpivaara that resulted in 18 second half points, on 6-of-7 shooting.

Seton Hall trailed 30-26 at halftime, but Missouri State quickly built a 38-30 lead, its largest advantage of the day, six minutes into the period after Tiff Terwelp converted a pair of foul shots. The Pirates responded with a quick 8-0 run to tie the game, thanks to three jumpers from Korpivaara and foul shots from junior Ela Mukosiej (Bialystok, Poland) and sophomore Shantel Brown (Lakewood, N.J.). MSU got a jumper from Brandi Johnson to break the run and take its final lead of the game with 9:42 to play before Korpivaara tied it on a layup and Mukosiej hit a jumper for a 42-40 lead with 8:23 to go.

SHU built the lead to 47-41 when Mukosiej hit a three-pointer at the 6:45 mark. The Bears managed to cut the lead to one at 47-46 with 5:02 to go after Terwelp hit one of two free throws, but Korpivaara scored eight points over the final five minutes and the Pirates’ defense limited MSU to just three field goals over the final nine minutes to ice the win.

The teams battled to a back-and-forth first half that saw eight ties and six lead changes. The Pirates trailed 8-4 early on before Monique Blake (Union, N.J.) hit a short jumper and Jadis Rhodin (Lakehurst, N.J.) hit a three for a 9-8 lead. The teams traded the lead two more times and saw six more ties before the Bears closed out the half with the final four points on field goals from Terwelp and Roxanne Stiles to lead 30-26 at the break.

Korpivaara hit 8-of-11 from the field for 22 points to go along with seven rebounds. Mukosiej added nine points and four boards. Brown had a game-high seven assists, with just one turnover. The Pirates had a 17-4 advantage on second chance points and forced 20 turnovers, which they turned into 27 points.

Tahnee Bolerio led the Bears with 14 points and five assists, while Terwelp had a double-double with 12 points and 13 assists