DES MOINES, IOWA ? A pair 20-point performances from seniors Lindsay Whorton (Independence, Mo./Truman) and Jill Martin (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) provided the spark Drake needed as the Bulldogs parlayed a strong second half into a 71-50 triumph over UC Davis on Sunday (Dec. 30).
The victory improved Drake's ledger to 7-4 on the campaign, while dropping the Aggies to 6-6.
It proved to be the Bulldogs' defensive effort in the initial 20 minutes that set the tone for offensive explosion that Drake unleashed to pull away for the victory in the second half.
After jumping out to a 13-4 on a trio of three-pointers to begin the tilt, including two from Whorton, the Bulldogs' offensive game fell silent going nearly eight minutes (7:33) without scoring.
During that span Drake relied on its defensive effort holding UC Davis to six points on 2-of-10 shooting before Whorton connected on her third triple of the afternoon to snap the run with 7:57 remaining in the first half.
“Our players are really starting to understand when we are struggling offensively we have to buckle down defensively and we did that in the first half.” Bulldog head coach Amy Stephens explained. “I'm proud of the way we defended, rebounded and took care of the ball today.”
Drake led at halftime by seven, 29-22, despite shooting only 30.3 percent from the floor. UC Davis connected on 40 percent of its attempts in the initial stanza.
The Aggies cut the deficit to, 29-25, on a triple from Haylee Donaghe to begin the second half before sophomore Jordann Plummer (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) ignited the offensive wick for the Blue and White scoring 11 of her 13 points in the final period to help Drake stretch the lead to as many as 21.
“I thought it was a really good win as our team played well together and everyone stepped up to contribute,” Martin said. “Jordann (Plummer) did a great job of coming out in the second half and really stepped up her game and she did a great job.”
Martin pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds in the affair to record her 29th career double-double and third of the season. Whorton proved deadly from beyond the arc matching a career-best draining six three-pointers. Plummer fell two rebounds shy of collecting her first career double-double as she scored 13 points to go along with eight rebounds.
“I think we knew we had to hit some outside shots to loosen up their zone defense and so I was glad we were able to do that early,” Whorton commented. “They are a good team and they didn't go away so our ability to defend in those stretches when we weren't scoring really stood out.”
Shooting nearly 61 percent (.607) from the field in the second half, Drake finished the affair hitting 44.3 percent of its attempts and held the Aggies to a Bulldog opponent season-low 50 points. Led by a team and game-high 20 points from Donaghe, UC Davis wrapped up the contest connecting on 37.7 percent of its shots.
The Bulldogs won the battle of the boards, 41-31, while forcing the Aggies into 15 turnovers.
“We took care of the ball better in the second half which allowed us to get better looks,” Stephens said. “Another key to the win was our ability to control the boards as we did a great job on both ends.”
The Bulldogs return to the court on Friday (Jan. 4) as Drake opens Missouri Valley Conference play hosting Missouri State. Game time is slated for 7:07 p.m.
