sports | 11
March 7, 2018
SPORTS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Drake Women’s finish undefeated conference schedule again
HISTORY IN THE MAKING Drake fans celebrate during another Bulldog win en route to an 18-0 conference record for the second season in a row. The Drake Women’s basketball team is 50-4 in conference the last three years. PHOTO BY MADDIE TOPLIFF
MVC Final Standings 1. Drake 2. Missouri State 3. Northern Iowa 4. Southern Illinois 5. Indiana State 6. Illinois State 7. Bradley 8. Loyola 9. Valparaiso 10. Evansville
18-0 15-3 13-5 11-7 9-9 8-10 6-12 5-13 5-13 0-18
Josh Cook Sports Editor joshua.cook@drake.edu @jcook_25 50 wins and four losses. The the Bulldog’s conference record over the last three seasons. The women’s team closed out their season this week with two road games against Loyola and Valparaiso. Loyola Drake took on the Ramblers on March 1st in Chicago. It was actually Loyola that got off to a
strong start, outscoring Drake 2320 in the first quarter. After that, the Bulldogs outscored Loyola 77-30 to complete a 97-53 road win. Becca Hittner provided 25 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks and 3 rebounds, contributing with an all-around solid basketball game. Maddy Dean and Sara Rhine also played strongly, Dean had 17 points while Rhine had 15 - both grabbed 8 rebounds on the night. The Drake bench outscored Loyola’s bench by a score of 4510. The depth the Bulldogs have
on their roster is a strong point fo the team. It seems like any combination of Drake players is just always the better five on the court. Valparaiso The Bulldogs then traveled to Indiana to take on Valparaiso in the final conference game of the year. Drake got out to a blistering start and ended the first quarter already up 22 points. Sara Rhine played really well, again, scoring 25 points on 10 of 13 from the field in just 19 minutes of playing time.
Becca Jonas also had a strong outing against Valpo, racking up a 13 point and 11 rebound doubledouble in only 17 minutes on the court. MVC Tournament Drake will, oddly enough, play the winner of tomorrow night’s first round game (Loyola vs Valparaiso) in what will be their tournament debut with a firstround-bye. Drake, being the no. 1 seed, has a clear path to the championship game where they’ll try to earn another NCAA tournament bid.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Bulldogs loses early, tight game to Bradley in 1st round; Loyola wins MVC bid
THEY’LL GET BACK UP After a dissapointing first round loss in the MVC tournament, the Bulldogs will look to bring in underclassmen to replace the talented senior class. PHOTO BY JD PELEGRINO Maddie Topliff Staff Writer maddie.topliff@drake.edu @TopDog_30 Drake University’s men’s basketball team came to the end of their 2017-18 season over the weekend when Bradley knocked them out of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals, besting the Bulldogs in a heartwrencher; 6361. The Braves moved on to the semifinals – a game the Bulldogs haven’t seen since 2008–and lost to Loyola-Chicago, who earned their bid to the Big Dance.
In Friday’s loss, Drake’s seniors scored the majority of the 61 points, with Reed Timmer leading the way at 18. Timmer’s effort was built on by fellow senior class members Ore Arogundade (2), C.J. Rivers (4), Graham Woodward (9), and De’Antae McMurray (9). This season of basketball gave a hopeful glimpse of a plentiful future for the Bulldogs under Niko Medved. The team improved their record from seven wins last season to 16 wins this season, making a noticeable difference in play, especially during home games. The Bulldogs aquired 10 of their 16 wins in front of home-
town Knapp Center crowds. Reed Timmer was historic this season, becoming Drake men’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing 1,800 points a few weeks ago, among other accomplishments. On March 26, 2017, Minnesota native Niko Medved was named the new head coach of Drake men’s basketball, a known champion of promoting and yielding excellence both on and off the basketball court. Having gotten used to playing under different leadership, the upperclassmen had the opportunity to choose whether to try and adapt to Medved’s style or be stubborn.
They chose wisely. “We chose to go all in with this coaching staff, and the coaching staff went all in on us,” junior forward Nick McGlynn said. A new coaching staff and a new season fosters new goals, and McGlynn shared that the team “had goals that exceeded expectations out of anyone outside our locker room.” Losing in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament wasn’t the ideal end to the Bulldogs’ season, but returning players like McGlynn hope to take the season’s spark and continue to build off their own success. The Bulldogs will usher in a new senior class of leadership
this upcoming season as Kory Kuenstling, Casey Schlatter and Nick McGlynn all step up to the plate to lead both the current players, as well as the incoming freshmen. McGlynn said he has a responsibility to be a leader and is looking to learn from the outgoing seniors’ persistence in order to inspire others with his style of play and attitude. “I want to lead the team that’s coming in. . . to have good team chemistry and to have success on the court.” While two consecutive firstround exits in the conference tournament is not what the Bulldogs hoped for after a much improved season, it’s a much different environment around the men’s program than was this time last year. While Kuenstling, Schlatter and McGlynn will step into leadership roles next season, Drake needs to re-stock in terms of back-court talent to replace this year’s seniors. Medved and Drake was sold as a dynamite pairing in terms of recruitment, and there have already been a handful of signings this year. Next season will be crucial for the projection of the program.