Drake uses second-half surge to beat Wichita State
For the record, yes, the Wichita State women’s basketball team did hold a three-point halftime lead over Drake.
It seems improbable after watching Drake’s offense turn Sunday afternoon’s game at Koch Arena into a clinic for the final 20 minutes of its 87-56 victory that saw Drake score 55 second-half points.
The first half on Sunday is the biggest — and possibly only — takeaway from Wichita State’s now 0-4 start to the Missouri Valley season, as the team fell to 3-12 on the season.
“You’ve got to give Drake the credit for coming right at us,” WSU coach Jody Adams said. “We weren’t able to draw the line in the sand and say, ‘No.’”
For the first half, Wichita State put up more than just resistance. It forced Drake into 14 turnovers, but more importantly shot 43.3 percent from the field with Rangie Bessard (14 points) and TaQuandra Mike (12) combining for 11 of 17 shooting.
Wichita State led 35-32 and appeared ready to challenge for its first conference win.
Until the third quarter began and Wichita State’s shots stopped falling. That’s a formula to combust against Drake, which is averaging over 80 points this season.
In the eight games that were 10 points or closer at halftime this season, Wichita State has been out-scored 158-86, or by an average of nine points, in the third quarter of those games.
On Sunday, Wichita State was trounced 26-9 in the third quarter and 55-21 in the second half. While Drake made 69.2 percent of its shots in the second half, Wichita State plummeted to 20 percent.
“The aggressiveness, that’s what stopped happening,” Mike said. “When we should have rammed it down their throats, we let up.”
It was also a homecoming for Drake freshman Sammie Bachrodt, a Kapaun Mount Carmel product whose fan base filled up nearly an entire section behind Drake’s bench on Sunday.
“It was awesome to play in front of my family and friends,” Bachrodt said. “I can’t believe how many that were there and they were so loud. It was so great and it was almost like it was our home court. It was just a really fun game to play in.”
Bachrodt, a 5-foot-10 guard, has started all 15 games for Drake (10-5) this season and is averaging 5.9 points and 5.7 rebounds.
On Sunday, Bachrodt not only added seven points and seven rebounds, but had two assists, a block, and a steal — a stat line that Drake coach Jennie Baranczyk loves about Bachrodt.
“She totally fits into our system and our chemistry,” Baranczyk said. “I love coaching her because she’s such a fun player to watch. She does all of the little things that great players do.”
Drake | 20 | 12 | 26 | 29 | — | 87 |
Wichita St. | 15 | 20 | 9 | 12 | — | 56 |
DRAKE (10-5, 3-1): Wendell 9-14 7-10 27, Donahue 3-3 0-0 6, Dean 1-8 7-7 9, Bachrodt 2-4 2-2 7, Ingle 4-5 3-3 11, Greiner 0-2 0-0 0, Miller 2-6 0-0 6, Rush 1-1 0-0 2, Rhine 7-7 5-7 19. Totals 29-50 24-29 87.
WICHITA STATE (3-12, 0-4): Lockhart 0-5 0-0 0, Pacar 2-9 3-4 8, Mike 7-20 0-0 16, Chapel 0-5 0-0 0, Bessard 7-12 6-6 20, Mortimer 0-1 0-0 0, Stovall 2-8 0-2 6, Lozada-Cabbage 0-1 0-0 0, Francis 1-1 1-2 4, Lehne 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 20-65 10-14 56.
Three-point shooting—DU 5-14 (Miller 2-2, Wendell 2-6, Bachrodt 1-1, Ingle 0-1, Dean 0-2, Greiner 0-); WSU 6-27 (Stovall 2-6, Mike 2-12, Francis 1-1, Pacar 1-4, Chapel 0-1, Lockhart 0-3). Rebounds—DU 46 (Rhine 8); WSU 23 (Bessard 7). Assists—DU 20 (Wendell 5); WSU 10 (Chapel 5). Fouls—DU 16, WSU 23. A—1,559.
This story was originally published January 10, 2016 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Drake uses second-half surge to beat Wichita State."