MOLINE, Ill. – The shots were falling early and often on Friday evening for Drake as the University of Evansville women's basketball team fell to the second seeded Bulldogs 89-53 in the quarterfinal round of the Missouri Valley Championship at the iWireless Center.
"We knew what we were up against tonight. Drake is one of the best teams in the league and has one of the best offenses in America," UE interim head coach Matt Ruffing said. "We had to be really solid in our game plan from the jump, and we weren't. We struggled, and gave them too many easy looks right away."
Drake (22-8) connected on seven three-point attempts in the first quarter on the way to racing out to a 29-9 advantage after the opening 10 minutes. The pace would stay firmly in the favor of the Bulldogs throughout the half as the team went into the break with a 49-23 lead while shooting 57.6% from the field, including a 10-of-14 showing from beyond the three-point arc.
"In a tournament, every shot seems magnified, so every time they hit one of those threes, it felt like it was two or three of them," Ruffing said. "It changed the game for them to come out so quickly, and they had an excellent crowd here that got into it."
While the three-point shooting for the Bulldogs would slow down in the second half, the scoring would not as Drake out-scored the Aces 40-30 over the final 20 minutes.
UE was led in the game by Camary Williams, who went 3-for-3 from distance on the way to finishing with 13 points. Camille Coleman added another 11, and Laura Friday, who played in her final collegiate contest, ended with six.
As a team, the Aces were held to 28.6% shooting from the field.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs, who shot 55.2% for the game, saw four players hit double figures. Sara Rhine led the way with 17 points, and Maddy Dean chipped in another 16. The duo of Lizzy Wendell and Caitlin Ingle combined for 25 to go along with 10 assists.
With the loss, the Aces finish the 2015-16 basketball season with a 3-28 record. Meanwhile, Drake advances to the semifinal round, where the Bulldogs will take on either Indiana State or Missouri State.
NOTES: UE is 14-16 all-time in MVC tournament play … UE has one at least one tournament game in back-to-back MVC trips … That hadn't occurred since the 2008 and 2009 … UE has won at least one game in the conference tournament 10 times since 1999 … Sara Dickey was held to four points in the loss … She has scored 1,641 points in her career and now trails just Shelly Brand-Adlard on UE's all-time scoring list. Brand-Adlard finished her career in 1985 with 1,713 career points … Sasha Robinson surpassed former Ace Robin Jennings on the all-time rebound list … With 604++ rebounds, she will enter her senior season ranked eighth in the UE history books.
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