Dec. 22, 2006
Junior Krista VandeVenter sparked the Iowa Hawkeyes scoring a game and career-high 23 points en route to a 77-70 win at Drake, snapping a three-game losing skid.
VandeVenter, who returned to the starting lineup for the first time season, made all eight of her field goal attempts and was 7-9 from the foul line in leading the Hawkeyes to their fifth consecutive win over the Bulldogs. In addition to her offensive production, VandeVenter grabbed seven rebounds and collected a steal.
“This was a much needed win against a very good Drake team,” said VandeVenter. “The win will give us confidence going into the Big Ten schedule.”
Iowa, who led start-to-finish, started the game on an 18-9 run in the first nine minutes to gain control of the contest. Iowa had good balanced scoring as eight Hawkeyes scored four points or more in Iowa’s non-conference finale.
“Tonight’s win is exactly what we needed,” said Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder. “I thought our intensity was higher and our emotion was stronger tonight.”
Iowa (8-5) led by as much as 15 (31-16) in the first half, but Drake rallied with a 12-3 run to trim the deficit to six (34-28) with just over a minute remaining. However, the Hawkeyes scored the last five points of the half and reestablished an 11-point advantage (39-28) at intermission.
Drake (5-5) opened the second stanza on a 10-4 run in the first three minutes to cut Iowa’s lead to five (43-38). Iowa withstood the Bulldog early push and rebuilt a 10-point lead (60-50) midway through the half and held on to the victory.
Drake was plagued by horrendous free throw shooting, making only 39 percent (9-23) from the charity stripe. Iowa, the nation’s fourth-best free throw shooting squad, drained 71 percent (20-28) of its attempts.
Sophomore Megan Skouby contributed 16 points, eight of which came in the first even minutes of the game. Junior Abby Emmert netted nine points and sophomore Lindsey Nyenhuis added eight. Junior Jenee Graham continued her dominance on the glass, pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds. Graham has eclipsed double figures in rebounding 10 times this season.
The Bulldogs were led by its two leading scorers, Brandy Dahir and Lindsay Whorton. Dahir scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Whorton netted 17 points.
Iowa shot 51 percent (27-53) from the field and had only 10 turnovers.
Iowa returns to action next Thursday when it travels to Minneapolis, MN, to play Minnesota in its Big Ten Conference opener.