It was a tough night in Des Moines, Iowa, for Bradley women’s basketball as they fell to the Drake Bulldogs 81-49. Dropping their second game against the Bulldogs, the Braves’ head coach Kate Popovec-Goss was frustrated by the team’s offensive inconsistency.
“We’re struggling to find offensive confidence, and there are times when we show splashes and times when we really struggle,” Popovec-Goss said. “When you can’t convert or control pressure on the offensive end, a team like Drake is going to get out and make you pay.”
Bradley’s stay in Iowa started out with a rebound battle, as neither team could get points on the board and they both struggled from the floor. The first points of the game came nearly three minutes in after a Bradley foul gave the Bulldogs two shots at the free-throw line, converted by forward Maggie Bair, who scored 15 points and registered 14 rebounds.
Drake swung the momentum and confidence to their advantage, producing an 11-point run before Popovec-Goss called a timeout.
“Offensively we certainly struggled and I think that was just reflective of our output in practice these past few days,” Popovec-Goss said. “We haven’t been preparing as hard as I would have liked to and it shows.”
Popovec-Goss’ squad got on the board after a good jumper from sophomore guard Nika Dorsey in the third minute, after the team started 0-11 from the field. Four steals and three blocks from Drake prevented the Braves from getting some good consistency in the first half.
Bradley added five more points to their tally while Drake enhanced their lead to 16, heading into the second quarter 23-7.
As the saying goes, for things to get better they must get worse, and they did for the Braves as they dug themselves into a 23-point hole in less than three minutes of the second frame.
Bair and Bulldogs’ guard Ava Hawthorne added to the already large margin with two layups and a 3-pointer. As Drake shifted to cruise control, going 0-9 from the field allowed space for the Braves to get back in the game.
The Braves started driving more and compressing their defensive shape, allowing them to go on a 14-2 run to cut their once 27-point deficit to a more manageable 15, heading for the locker room at 42-27.
“We were able to get downhill and into the paint and from there it was a lot easier to execute our stuff offensively,” Popovec-Goss said.
That positive momentum swing in the first half didn’t continue out of the locker room for the Braves as they shot 2-10 from the field and 0-2 from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, went on a 16-4 run, with Bair reaching her eighth double-double of the season. Drake took advantage of fast breaks, as 21 points came from that department of the Bulldogs arsenal.
A mirror of the first quarter, Bradley shot 16 percent from the field, scoring six points compared to Drake’s 60 percent, scoring 23. Heading into the final frame 65-33.
The Braves looked to control the damage and tighten the 32 point gap, looking to improve their game despite the outcome. The Bulldogs bench got in on the action as they helped register 34 points on the night against the Braves.
Sophomore guard Caroline Waite struggled to score in the first half but was still able to register nine points and three rebounds. Fellow sophomore guard Alex Rouse and junior Ruba Abo Hashesh also put up nine points on the night.
Bradley kept putting up points on the board despite Drake countering with a 7-0 run to keep the Braves from mounting any consistency. Bradley improved in the shooting department, shooting 7-17 from the field, showing that the Braves still had some fight left in them.
As the clock winded down and the last bucket was made, Drake left by sweeping Bradley, prolonging the Braves’ search for their first conference win.
Bradley stays in Iowa as they face off against the Northern Iowa Panthers this Saturday, with the tip off at 2 p.m.
