Drake outlasts UNI in two overtimes, 88-79

CEDAR FALLS - In what could be the first of three meetings this season, Drake and Northern Iowa staged a doozy of a women's basketball game.

Drake posted four double-figure scorers and closed the second overtime with a 13-4 surge and outlasted Northern Iowa, 88-79, in a Missouri Valley Conference showdown before 4,027 fans Friday night at McLeod Center.

'Thank goodness we were on this side of it,” fifth-year Drake Coach Jennie Baranczyk said. 'That was a really fun game to be a part of. I couldn't be more proud of our team.”

The victory is the 10th in a row for Drake (16-4, 9-0 Missouri Valley), which broke a first-place tie in the conference with UNI (15-5, 8-1) and dealt the Panthers their first loss in 12 games.

The game was highlighted by 10 ties and 13 lead changes over the frantic fourth quarter and two overtimes. The Bulldogs received double-double performances from freshmen Brenni Rose (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Becca Hittner (10 points, 11 rebounds), while sophomore post Becca Jonas tallied a team-high 18 points and 12 rebounds.

'I felt like we all started getting going once we started moving the ball,” Jonas said. 'Once we really started moving the ball and really establishing the high-low, that's when we started getting good shots.”

Senior forward Lizzy Wendell added 16 points, including an old-fashioned three-point play that gave Drake the lead for good. Jonas and the Bulldogs out-rebounded UNI by 14 and were lethal from the free-throw line. Drake converted 34-of-36 attempts, while the Panthers reached the line just 18 times.

'When we needed to, I thought we did a really nice job of being able to finish,” Baranczyk said.

UNI sophomore Ellie Herzberg led all scorers with 27 points, including nine in the first overtime. Former Benton Community prep Madison Weekly added 22 for the Panthers.

'I thought it was an outstanding game by both teams,” UNI Coach Tanya Warren said. 'We battled, we competed. Both teams fought hard. It wasn't our best game, but we played our hearts out. We left our heart out on the floor and that is all I could ever ask. Our kids did that. It just didn't go our way tonight.”

The teams will stage a rematch Feb. 24 at Drake in an attempt to earn the top seed in the conference tournament. Should a third meeting occur there, the schools could deliver multiple NCAA tournament bids for the Missouri Valley Conference for just the second time in 15 years (2013 – Wichita State, Creighton).

AT MCLEOD CENTER

DRAKE (88):

Lizzy Wendell 4-17 8-9 16, Becca Hittner 1-6 8-8 10, Sammie Bachrodt 2-3 2-2 7, Caitlin Ingle 5-18 2-2 12, Becca Jonas 8-15 2-2 18, Brenni Rose 4-6 9-10 17, Paige Greiner 0-0 0-0 0, Nicole Miller 2-6 3-3 8. Totals 26-71 34-36 88

NORTHERN IOWA (79):

Madison Weekly 6-22 8-9 22, Angie Davidson 3-8 0-0 9, Hannah Schonhardt 4-7 0-0 8, Mikaela Morgan 2-11 1-2 5, Megan Maahs 1-4 2-2 4, Ellie Herzberg 12-21 2-4 27, Kennedy Kirkpatrick 0-0 0-0 0, Heidi Hillyard 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Hagen 2-3 0-1 4, Abby Gerrits 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-77 13-18 79.

Halftime-Drake 32, UNI 31. End of regulation - Drake 59, UNI 59. End of Overtime - Drake 72, UNI 72. 3-point goals- Drake 2-20 (Wendell 0-5, Hittner 0-2, Bachrodt 1-2, Ingle 0-5, Jonas 0-1, Rose 0-1, Miller 1-4), UNI 6-30 (Weekly 2-10, Davison 3-8, Schonhardt 0-2, Morgan 0-3, Herzberg 1-6, Gerrits 0-1). Rebounds-Drake 54 (Jonas 12), UNI 40 (Schonhardt 8). Total fouls-Drake 19, UNI 25. Fouled out-Bachrodt, Davison, Schonhardt. Assists-Drake 19 (Ingle 8), UNI 25 (Davison, Schonhardt, Maahs (5). Turnovers-Drake 15, UNI 11. A-

4,027.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com