AMES – No. 8 Iowa State heads back to Ames to face Drake University on home court, capping off a week of in-state rivalry games.
Faced with their first loss of the season against the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) on Wednesday due to a second-half offensive struggle, the team turns back to the court in hopes of gaining their fifth home win of the season.
Although UNI obtained its first win against a top-10 school, many Cyclones found success in their 87-75 loss to move the team forward throughout the game. Center Audi Crooks and forward Addy Brown both succeeded in gaining double-doubles, Crooks with 22 points and 10 rebounds and Brown with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Iowa State is not the only team to suffer a loss to an in-state school, as Drake had its second defeat of the season with an 86-73 loss against the University of Iowa.
Despite going in confident with a comfortable 25-21 lead in the first quarter, Drake could not keep the points going as Iowa improved its defense in the second quarter. The limited offensive opportunities capped the Bulldogs at 10 points, leaving the team 10 points behind into the second half. Drake’s inconsistent shooting seemed like the end as it made two out of its 13 attempted field goals and two of its six attempted 3-pointers.
With a 10-point lead, Iowa maintained point consistency throughout the night, making 52.3% of its field goals, but lacked in 3-pointers, only making seven out of the attempted 20.
Due to the consistent lead by the Hawkeyes, the Bulldogs’ inconsistent shooting only increased which ultimately led to their demise as Drake’s main point income was due to free throws, as it secured 75% of its shots behind the charity stripe.
While watching the match between Drake and Iowa, the Cyclones found many possible weaknesses and success points in Drake’s skills and have strategies moving forward into the matchup on Sunday.
“They get the ball out fast and get to transition, they don’t take very much of the shot clock to get up a shot,” guard Arianna Jackson said, “So I think just being able to get up into Katie [Dinnebier] a little bit more and apply pressure before they can get their offense set is going to be big for us.”
Similar to the Cyclones’ loss against UNI, instead of two players finding success during their loss, only one player led the Bulldogs throughout the game. Drake was led by senior guard Katie Dinnebier, who earned a season-high of 40 points during 38 minutes of play. Dinnebier also secured five assists, one rebound and three steals.
Being Iowa State’s top defensive guard, Jackson will be the main guard to limit Dinnebier throughout the game, along with junior Kenzie Hare and senior Emily Ryan.
“[Dinnebier] is an athletic, strong guard,” Jackson said. “She is able to create a lot for the Drake offense, get to the free throw line and get to the shots that she wants to take. So limiting where she wants to go on the court, I think is going to be key for us winning the game.”
“I think she is a really great player, obviously had a couple of great games this season so far, so I think she will be a tough matchup but we will be ready,” Hare said.
Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly says that Jackson is one of the best on-ball defenders in the Big 12 and after being limited to only 17 minutes of play against UNI, after earning four fouls. Fennelly hopes that the team can help Jackson succeed more in the game against Drake, ultimately strengthening their defense.
“Whoever the best perimeter player is who she gets and we got to be smarter, she has got to be smarter because 17 minutes is not going to work,” Fennelly said. “So hopefully we will be better and help her a little bit more, she has to make some better decisions.”
The Cyclones look to redeem themselves against Drake at 2 p.m. Sunday from Hilton Coliseum. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
