Saturday, January 12, 2008 | Women's Basketball
WBB Saturday: Drake Stays Unbeaten, Missouri State, Indiana State Win Second-Straight in Valley Play; Aces Are Road Winners

Drake’s defense continues to be the story as the Bulldogs claimed an early conference showdown of unbeaten teams with a 73-51 win at Creighton.  Drake forced 22 turnovers and held the Bluejays to 35.7 percent shooting to move to 3-0 in Valley play. Missouri State won their second-straight Valley game over Southern Illinois behind a double-double from Tiff Terwelp. In other action, Evansville took care of the ball, committing just seven turnovers in their road win over Wichita State, while Indiana State needed overtime to get by UNI.

 

Evansville 76, Wichita State 60

WICHITA, Kan.—University of Evansville senior guard Rebekah Parker continued her torrid start to Missouri Valley Conference play on Saturday, as she led a pack of four Purple Aces in double-figures with 23 points to help UE to a 76-60 victory over the host Wichita State University Shockers at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

 

Parker scored seven of her 23 points in the game’s final seven minutes to help start a game-ending 18-4 UE run to turn a two-point lead into a 16-point victory.  Parker scored seven of the first 10 points in the run to give the Purple Aces a 68-60 lead with 1:40 to play.  Evansville would then go 6-of-8 from the free throw line the rest of the way, while holding the Shockers scoreless to seal the victory.

 

Parker was joined in double-figures by fellow starters Ashley Austin (14 points), Courtney Felke (11 points), and Shannon Novosel (10 points).  Junior forward Robyn Jennings also added nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds, as she helped UE out-rebound the top rebounding team in the MVC, Wichita State, 44-42.

 

Kyrie Kinder led Wichita State with 15 points, while Stephens added her average of 13 points on just 4-of-11 shooting from the field.  Evansville was able to force the Shockers into 38.6 percent shooting from the floor (22-for-57) and 18 turnovers.  The 18 turnovers led to a 25-6 advantage in points off of turnovers for UE, as the Purple Aces committed just seven miscues on the afternoon.

 

With the victory, Evansville improves to 7-7 overall and 2-2 in the MVC.  Wichita State, meanwhile, slips to 6-10 overall and 0-4 in the Valley.  The Purple Aces will return to action next on Thursday night, as UE will welcome the Creighton University Bluejays to Roberts Stadium.  Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and Thursday’s game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on the Aces’ Radio Network (91.5 F.M.-WUEV, 100.5 F.M.-WSJD, 103.9 F.M.-WNTC).

 

Drake 73, Creighton 51

OMAHA, NEB. –Drake moved to 3-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign with a 73-51 road victory over Creighton on Saturday (Jan. 12).

Drake improved to 10-4 overall with its fifth straight triumph, while the Bluejays dropped to 9-5 on the year, including 2-1 in league action.

The Bulldogs quickly assumed the lead in the encounter as senior Jill Martin (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) drained a fade away jumper as the shot clock expired to score the game’s first basket.

Drake’s defensive pressure in the first half continually befuddled the Bluejays as Creighton committed 12 first half turnovers, which the Bulldogs on the strength of eight steals converted into 13 points. The Bluejays came into the contest as one of the hottest team in the MVC in three-point shooting but were limited to a 0-for-4 effort in the initial stanza.

Led by nine and eight first half points from Martin and sophomore Monique’ Jones (Lee’s Summit, Mo./Lee’s Summit North) Drake was able to force Creighton into taking shots within the lane and the Bulldogs capitalized taking a 30-22 lead into halftime.

Drake connected on 35.7 percent of its shots in the first 20 minutes, while holding Creighton to a .333 shooting mark.

The Bulldogs were able to seize momentum to begin the second half as they took control of the initial five minutes racing out to a 12-4 run to extend their lead to 42-26.

Sophomore Jordann Plummer (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) then stole the show for Drake scoring the next eight Bulldog points to push the advantage to 50-34.

The lead swelled to as many as 25 points before the Bulldogs exited with the victory.

Four Drake players finished in double-figures led by the 30th career double-double from Martin, who registered game highs in points (17) and rebounds (11). Scoring 13 of her 15 points in the second half was Plummer, while senior Lindsay Whorton (Independence, Mo./Truman) and Jones added 15 and 10 points, respectively. Junior Ashleigh Brady (Lubbock, Texas/Frenship) just missing registering double-figures for the third straight game as she netted nine.

Creighton was paced by an 11-point effort from Megan Neuvirth.

Drake finished the tilt shooting 49.1 percent from the floor and held the Bluejays to a 35.7 percent clip. Creighton won the battle of the boards, 41-30, but committed 22 turnovers resulting in 22 Bulldog points.

Drake returns to the road on Friday (Jan. 18) as the squad tangles with defending MVC regular season champion Southern Illinois in the MVC Game of the Week. Action is set to commence at 7:35 p.m. with FSN Midwest carrying the telecast.

 

Missouri State 77, Southern Illinois 67

Led by the second-half performances of senior captains Tahnee Balerio and Tiff Terwelp, the Missouri State Lady Bears picked up their second consecutive Missouri Valley Conference victory with a 77-67 win over Southern Illinois Saturday (Jan. 12) afternoon at Hammons Student Center. Balerio scored 14 of her 16 points after intermission, while Terwelp notched her third double-double of the season with a 19-point, 10-rebound effort to help MSU improve to 2-2 in the Valley and 4-11 overall.

      

The Lady Bears’ senior duo teamed with junior forward Maggie Dwyer to total 36 of Missouri State’s 43 second-half points, including 14 during a crucial 17-3 scoring run that turned a 58-55 deficit into an 11-point advantage with just under three minutes left on the clock.

 

Missouri State started strong, shooting .433 in a first half that featured eight ties and seven lead changes. The Lady Bears led by as many as four points, taking a 20-16 lead on a Marisha Brown jumper with 12:23 to play, but Southern Illinois ran off six straight points to grab the upper hand. The Salukis got a lift off the bench from freshman Tanaeya Worden, who knocked down three of her four three-pointers in the opening period, the second of which gave SIU a 28-27 lead with 6:28 left on the clock.

      

A pair of Jasmyne Watson free throws knotted the score at 31-31 at the 4:09 mark, but SIU went on to score 10 of the final 13 points of the half, then grabbed its biggest lead of the game on Ellen Young’s three-point play just 10 seconds into the second period.

 

Terwelp countered with a three-point play of her own to trim the margin to 44-37, and the Lady Bears gradually chipped away from there, pulling to within one point of the Salukis on two Jamie Adams free throws with 14:22 to play.

      

Worden’s final three of the game at the 10:49 mark put SIU up 58-55, but it was all Missouri State from that point. Balerio started the scoring run with a pair of free throws, the last of which represented the 1,000th point of her MSU career. Dwyer and Terwelp combined to score eight straight points, the first two coming on Terwelp’s follow of her own miss to give the Lady Bears a 60-58 advantage with 8:07 to play.

 

After an Erin Pauk three-pointer cut the Missouri State lead to 62-61 with just under seven minutes to go, the Lady Bears would score 10 unanswered points over the ensuing 4:11 to take control of the game. Balerio’s jumper at the 2:48 mark made it a 72-61 ballgame and her three-point play with 1:24 to go sealed the outcome by giving MSU a 75-63 advantage, its largest lead of the day.

 

Missouri State seized control of the game by outscoring the undersized Salukis in the paint by a 22-10 margin in the second half. The Lady Bears connected on 16-of-31 (.516) field goal attempts after the break and shot .475 from the floor for the ballgame. For the second game in-a-row, they held their opponent to below 30-percent shooting from beyond the three-point arc, limiting the Salukis to just 8-of-29 (.276) shooting from long range.

 

Dwyer added 16 points and six rebounds to the Missouri State attack, and Brown chipped in 10 points and seven boards.

 

Worden led Southern Illinois (6-8 overall, 2-2 MVC) with a career-high 18 points, while Young (16 points), Erica Smith (13) and Pauk (10) each finished in double figures.

 

The Lady Bears will hit the road next weekend for a pair of MVC matchups with Northern Iowa and Bradley, starting with a 7:05 p.m. contest against UNI on Thursday (Jan. 17). MSU and Bradley will square off at 2:05 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 19) in Peoria.

 

Indiana State 73, UNI 60 (OT)

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - At Hulman Center, it is usually the Indiana State women’s basketball team that drains 3-pointers from all over the court, but for this game, it was visiting Northern Iowa that found their stroke from the outside. The Sycamores overcame 11 3-point field goals by the Panthers to win 73-69 in overtime in front of 3,210 fans.

 

ISU, who swept this weekend’s homestand against Bradley and Northern Iowa, improved to 8-6, 2-2 MVC while the Panthers fell to 5-9, 0-3 MVC.

 

UNI was hot throughout the game from the outside, hitting 11-of-24 shots from 3-point range, while the Sycamores were just 2-of-13. Danielle Wubbens paced UNI with 16 points, connecting on 4-of-6 triples. Annie Bankhead and Kelsey Luna each hit one 3-pointer for the Sycamores.

 

But the Sycamores were paced inside instead by the play of senior center Laura Rudolphi, who posted a career-high 26 points in the victory. The school’s all-time blocked shots leader, Rudolphi was credited with three in the game, none bigger than her swat of a Jacqui Kalin shot with one second showing on the clock which kept the score tied at 63 each at the end of regulation.

 

Rudolphi’s lay-up off a pass from Angela Phillips with 26 seconds left in the second half knotted the score at 63 after UNI’s Alexa Mennen connected on a lay-up of her own with 1:46 left to push the Panthers up by two points.

 

In the overtime, Rudolphi hit a jumper for the Sycamores just 10 seconds into the extra frame for a 65-63 lead. Rudolphi added pair of free throws to bump the lead up to four points.

 

After Nicole Clausen cut the lead down to 67-65, Annie Bankhead hit a pair of free throws to make it 69-65 again. Danielle Wubbens, found her way to the charity stripe next and cut the lead down to 69-67 with 2:28 left in the game.

 

The parade to the free throw line continued as Kara Schilli made it 71-67 on a pair of free throws after she was fouled on a fast break opportunity. Up just two points, 69-67, Schilli came up with a steal in the press off Kalin to help expand the advantage.

 

The Panthers’ Mennen posted a pair of free throws with 39 seconds left to trim the ISU lead down to 71-69.

 

After a UNI timeout, Bankhead misfired on a 3-pointer, but Kara Schilli grabbed the offensive rebound with five seconds showing on the clock and was able to throw the ball out of bounds off a Panther player. The Sycamores got the ball in to Angela Phillips, who was fouled and then hit a pair of free throws for the 73-69 victory.

 

Rudolphi was joined in double figures by Kelsey Luna and Angela Phillips, who scored 10 points each. Rudolphi was 10-of-15 from the field, plus 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the win. She added eight rebounds, plus three blocks and three steals in 37 minutes of action.

 

Luna scored 10, but fouled out in the overtime period. She was the first Sycamore this season to foul out of a game.

 

Overall, Indiana State was 25-of-29 at the free throw line while UNI was just 6-of-13. ISU forced 21 Panther turnovers and was able to convert then into 23 points. The game was tight throughout as the score was tied nine times and changed hands on 14 occasions.

 

The Panthers grabbed an early seven point lead with 13:02 left in the opening stanza, 14-7, but ISU actually also led by seven points with 2:56 left before intermission before UNI was able to cut it down to just 36-34 at the half.

 

The Sycamores return to action on Saturday, January 19 when they travel to league-leading Illinois State. Tip-off versus the Redbirds is set for 5:05 p.m. (EST) and can be heard live on WISU-FM 89.7.

 

 

 
2007-08 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
1/18/2008 WBB: Drake Edges Southern Illinois, Stays Unbeaten in Valley Play
1/17/2008 Missouri State Wins Third-Straight, Aces Drop Creighton, Bradley Gets First League Win
1/16/2008 Bradley's Rogers Out For Year With Achilles Injury
1/14/2008 Weekly Women?s Basketball Notebook: Valley Hoops on the Air
1/13/2008 WBB: Illinois State Topples Bradley, Moves to 4-0 in MVC Play
1/12/2008 WBB Saturday: Drake Stays Unbeaten, Missouri State, Indiana State Win Second-Straight in Valley Play; Aces Are Road Winners
1/10/2008 WBB: Redbirds Move to 3-0, Sycamores, Lady Bears Pick Up First Valley Win
1/7/2008 Weekly Women's Basketball Notebook; Cirone, Woodard Honored
All Women's Basketball News »