With the season opener a week away, Drake head coach Amy Stephens will have one final opportunity to gauge the progress of her team as the Bulldogs entertain Quincy this Friday in their final exhibition game at the Knapp Center.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: Quincy has four starters back from last year’s squad which posted a 27-5 record, the second most wins in school history. The Lady Hawks won their first Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season title since the 2004-05 campaign after posting a 16-1 record en route to advancing to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second straight year.
Graduation did claim guard Jessica Keller, who earned third-team All-American honors while becoming the school’s career scoring leader with 1,823 points.
Quincy opened the exhibition season falling at Southern Illinois, 67-59, last Sunday. The Lady Hawks, who trailed 39-36 at halftime, shot 19 percent from the floor in the second half, while finishing the game shooting 28 percent the the floor. J.D. Gravia, a 2000 graduate of William Jewell, is in his third year as head coach at Quincy owning a 47-15 record. He was named the 2009 Illinois Basketball Coaches Association NCAA Division II Coach of the Year.
THE SERIES: The Bulldogs will be meeting Quincy for the seventh consecutive time in the exhibition season with Drake having won the previous six meetings. Last year senior Lauren Dybing scored a team-high 23 points, including 12 in the second half, as Drake held off Quincy, 67-62, at the Drake Knapp Center.
Dybing also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, while collecting five steals and three blocked shots. Two free throws by Dybing with 2:32 left gave Drake a 64-53 lead. But Quincy outscored Drake, 9-3, down the stretch.
The score was tied 12 times with the lead changing hands five times. Layups by Dybing and junior Jordann Plummer gave Drake a 54-50 lead it never relinquished. Plummer finished with 12 points, six rebounds and two assists.
The Bulldogs dominated the glass to overcome 35 percent shooting from the field. Drake outrebounded Quincy, 55-34, scoring 15 second-chance points.
Guard Brittnye McSparron came off the bench to collect eight points, including six in the second half. Forward Monique’ Jones and senior Ashleigh Brady added seven points apiece. Jones grabbed nine rebounds, while senior forward Kelsey Keizer added seven boards.
DRAKE WINS EXHIBITION OPENER: Sophomore forward Rachael Hackbarth and senior guard Jordann Plummer scored 18 and 17 points, respectively, to lead Drake to a 72-55 exhibition victory past Upper Iowa last Sunday at the Drake Knapp Center.
Hackbarth scored 14 points in the first half in helping the Bulldogs own a 39-29 halftime advantage. Hackbarth grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds as the Bulldogs controlled the boards by a 39-26 margin.
Drake sophomore forward Amber Wollschlager came off the bench to add 10 points, three assists and two steals. Drake forced Upper Iowa into 23 turnovers, scoring 27 points off those miscues.
Stephens utilized her bench as all 13 players appeared in the game. Freshmen Katie Schechinger, Kayla Person and Stephanie Running played 18, 16 and 13 minutes, respectively. Two free throws by Running staked Drake to its biggest lead of the game at 70-50. Drake shot 45.8 percent from the floor, making 27 of 59 shots.
SIZING UP THE BULLDOGS: Drake returns four of its top five scorers from a 19-12 team that finished third in the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference race and the Bulldogs feel they can contend for the league crown.
”It’s up for grabs,” Drake coach Amy Stephens said. “We have a lot of respect for the teams in our league, but we’re at a point where we as a coaching staff feel strongly that every year, we’re going to compete.”
”We had a very solid season last year. We lost two starters to knee injuries but we were able to have other players step up to the challenge and sustain a good season for us.”
Senior forward Monique’ Jones, senior guard Jordann Plummer and junior guard Kristin Turk are the only players on a young team that have more than one season of experience.
Plummer, who averaged 12.8 points, was a first-team All-MVC performer. Turk averaged 10.5 points, while Jones led the team with a 6.1 rebounding average. Center Rachael Hackbarth returns up front after being selected to the MVC All-Freshman team after averaging 6.8 points and 4.7 rebounds last year.
Sophomore Brittnye McSparron, who started six consecutive games before missing the final 11 with a knee injury, will return at point guard. McSparron averaged 7.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
After McSparron was injured Plummer moved to the point and sophomore Amber Wollschlager played off guard, starting the last 11 games of the season. As a starter, Wollschlager averaged 9.6 points, including a career-high 18 in the opening round of the MVC Tournament. Redshirt sophomore Morgan Herrick is also back from knee surgery and will vie for time at small forward with Wollschlager.
MVC PRESEASON POLL: Drake was picked to finish third in the 2009-10 Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll conducted by the league’s media, coaches and sports information directors.
The Bulldogs garnered 296 points. Creighton was picked to finish first with 393 points, while defending regular-season champion Illinois State was selected to finish second.
Drake senior guard Jordann Plummer (St. Louis, Mo.) was chosen to the MVC Preseason All-Conference team. Plummer was a first-team All-MVC choice last year after leading Drake in scoring with a 12.8 average. The Bulldogs return seven letterwinners, including three starters from last year’s squad which posted a 19-12 record, including a 12-6 mark in the MVC.
FASTBREAK LUNCHES: Drake will once again provide a unique glimpse into Bulldog women’s basketball with the monthly Fastbreak Luncheons. The events will be held at All-Play in downtown Des Moines from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 1, Jan. 5 and Feb. 2.
