DES MOINES, Iowa – A deadly third quarter killed any chance Indiana State held in Friday night's ballgame, dropping its Valley road opener to Drake 80-55 inside Knapp Center.
Junior forward Rhagen Smith came off the bench for a team-high 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Redshirt senior Cierra Ceazer added 10 points and seven rebounds while redshirt junior Kelsey Dirks led on the boards with 11 rebounds.
Freshman guard Tierra Webb handed out a new career-high four assists while Smith and Dirks each had two blocks. The Sycamores did manage a season-high 16 steals, led by three each from Ceazer and freshman forward Regan Wentland. But 17 turnovers on their own added up to 16 points for the Bulldogs.
Indiana State came ready to play toe-to-toe from the 3-point line with the Bulldogs, as it poured in its first nine points behind the line. ISU held its largest lead of the day after Smith dribbled and connected off the glass to lead 11-4.
Drake cut the lead down to two but Ceazer drove to the bucket with 3:15 to play as ISU didn't score for the remainder of the quarter as Drake tied it 13-13 after one. The Bulldogs took a narrow lead off a pair of free throws by Maddy Dean to start the second but Mackowiak's desperation 3-pointer as the shot clock expired hit nothing but net to tie it up again at 16-16 with 8:40 to play.
Neither team led by more than two in the first half, as senior guard Alexis Newbolt drilled a three pointer with 2:29 to go and gave her team a 27-25 lead. Drake answered with a back-to-back buckets as it took a 29-27 lead into halftime.
ISU came out cold in the second half, allowing Drake to go on a 9-0 run in the opening three and a half minutes. It opened the door to a 33-13 advantage overall in the third quarter for the Bulldogs as the Sycamores combined for just eight made baskets in the second half. ISU couldn't even come close to filling the gap in the fourth quarter despite six points off the bench from senior guard Kalliste Haskins.
GAME CHANGER
Drake came out in the second half, shooting 63.6 percent in the first five and a half minutes of play to open up the gap of which they never relinquished. ISU was outscored in the third quarter 33-13 and made just eight shots in the second half combined.
SYCAMORE LEADERS
Points – Rhagen Smith (12)
Rebounds – Kelsey Dirks (11)
Assists – Tierra Webb (4)
Steals – C. Ceazer/ R. Wentland (3)
Blocks – R. Smith/K. Dirks (2)
ABOUT THE SQUAD
Field Goal % - 31.7
3PT Field Goal % - 29.2
Free Throw % - 50.0
Assists – 12
Steals – 16
Rebounds - 33
RECORDS
Indiana State: 6-9, 2-2 MVC
Drake: 11-5, 4-1 MVC
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
4 – Freshman guard Tierra Webb dished out a new career-high four assists on Friday night
12 – Junior forward Rhagen Smith came off the bench to lead ISU on 5-for-5 shooting with 12 points on the night
16 – Indiana State collected a new season-high 16 steals on 19 Drake turnovers in the win
UP NEXT
Indiana State faces Northern Iowa in a Sunday afternoon meeting to end the weekend road swing. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET inside McLeod Center and is live on The Valley on ESPN3.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Women's Basketball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
