Cyclones Fall at Drake, 78-75

DES MOINES, Iowa ? The Iowa State women's basketball team struggled defensively in the second half, letting Drake come back to earn a 78-75 win over the Cyclones Sunday afternoon at the Knapp Center.

The Bulldogs shot 58.6 percent from the field and went 10-for-12 from the charity stripe in the second half as they defeated ISU for the first time in six tries. Four Drake players finished in double figures, led by Rachael Harkbarth's 20 points. The Cyclones also shot the ball well in the second half, hitting 53.3 percent from the floor, but it wasn't enough to earn the win as they fell to 1-1 on the season. Drake improved to 2-1 overall.

Junior Kelsey Bolte led Iowa State in scoring with 18 points, including hitting 4-of-9 attempts from long range. She also pulled down five rebounds and blocked a shot. Alison Lacey posted her second career point-assist double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Whitney Williams also chipped in 11 points, hitting three treys. Jessica Schroll led ISU on the glass with seven rebounds.

The Cyclones went 3-for-3 from the field, getting scoring from three different players to start the game for a 7-6 lead. Williams nailed a three-pointer to put the Cyclones up 20-14 with 10 and a half minutes to go in the first half.

The Cyclones took its largest lead of the half, 24-16, behind back-to-back baskets by Chassidy Cole and Bolte. Denae Stuckey hit a layup with 5:52 to go for a 26-18 ISU lead, before Lacey and Poppens picked up their second fouls of the half, putting three ISU starters on the bench with two fouls apiece for the remainder of the period, including Anna Prins.

Drake took advantage, taking a 30-28 lead with a field goal by Amber Wollschlager, but Iowa State used a 7-0 run, including another three by Bolte, to end the half up 35-30.

The Cyclones shot 38.5 percent from the field and 41.7 percent (5-12) from beyond the arc over the first 20 minutes, while Drake shot 39.3 percent from the field and hit three treys. ISU held a 21-17 edge on the boards at the break.

Williams drained a three-pointer coming out of the break to put ISU up 38-30, but Drake immediately took the momentum back, scoring seven unanswered points to cut ISU's lead to one (38-37). The Cyclones were up by as many as seven (48-41) before Drake went on an 11-2 run to take its first lead of the second half 52-50.

The Bulldogs went on another 6-0 run to go ahead 65-57 with six and a half minutes to go. Anna Prins scored on back-to-back field goals to cut the Drake lead to four, 67-63. Bolte hit a three-pointer and Lacey got a layup to cut the Drake lead to one, 71-70 with a little over a minute remaining.

Harkbarth got a field goal to push Drake up by three and the Cyclones turned the ball over on their next possession. The Bulldogs hit a pair of free throws and Prins went down and knocked down a trey on the other end to make it 75-73 Drake. DU hit another pair from the charity stripe, and Stuckey drove the floor and put up a layup to again cut the lead to two. Kayla Person hit the second of two free throws for the Bulldogs and Lacey missed a three-point attempt with a second left on the clock to seal the game for Drake.

The Cyclones will travel to Evanston, Ill., for Northwestern's Doubletree White Invitational, where they will face Penn at 3 p.m. on Friday and College of Charleston at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Players Mentioned

Kelsey Bolte

Kelsey Bolte

Chassidy Cole

Alison Lacey

Alison Lacey

Anna Prins

Jessica Schroll

Denae Stuckey

Denae Stuckey

Whitney Williams

Whitney Williams

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