As part of an SIU basketball doubleheader, with the men’s team playing at 7 p.m. against the University of Illinois-Chicago, the Drake University women’s basketball team would head to Carbondale for the first of two games. Tipoff was 1 p.m. at the Banterra Center. 

The game began with Drake winning the opening tip, driving the ball into the lane, and missing a contested layup. The ball was rebounded by the offense, who scored the second-chance points. 

After the first possession, both teams went back-and-forth for the next couple of minutes.

The Bulldogs would begin to separate themselves once they regained the lead, 9-7, with 5:54 left in the first quarter. Drake scored a three-pointer after a forced turnover on SIU guard Sierra Hughes. 

For the remainder of the first quarter, it was all Drake. The university heralding from Des Moines, Iowa would hold the Salukis scoreless for a staggering six-minute-stretch. 

The Dawgs broke the scoring drought after a three by senior guard Quierra Love with 44 seconds left in the first. She also tacked on two free throws to make the score 21-12 by the end of the first quarter. 

Each team traded buckets to start, meaning Drake maintained a ten-point lead for most of the second quarter. By the time of the first media timeout, with 5:45 in the second quarter, Drake led 30-18. 

The scoring load for the Salukis was shared relatively evenly throughout the first half. Laniah Randle, the team’s leading scorer on the season, was carrying the majority of the load offensively with eight points and four rebounds. 

Love also heavily contributed with seven points and four first-half steals.

The Drake Bulldogs maintained a 40-31 lead as both teams heard the first-half buzzer sound.

The Salukis found themselves struggling to get back into the game during the start of the second half. Every time Southern Illinois would cut the Bulldogs’ lead to just seven, Drake would pull away, leaving the Dawgs frustrated. 

At the end of the third quarter, Drake led by just ten; 59-49. 

SIU would need a heroic effort in the fourth quarter to climb back into the game. Ultimately, the Dawgs didn’t have nearly enough to put themselves back in this one. 

Drake began to pull away 2:41 left in the game, extending their lead all the way to 19 before the end of the contest. At this point, it seemed as if the Salukis had given up on any chance of a miraculous comeback. 

The Bulldogs would go on to win the game, 78-59. 

Love, Randle and guard Se’Quoia Allmond performed most valiantly for the Salukis. 

Randle had 11 points, five rebounds and two steals while Love finished with 12 points, four rebounds, one assist and four steals. 

Allmond was one of the few players with a positive +/- rating. She also had 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. 

The Salukis will play its next game against University of Illinois-Chicago, also taking place at the Banterra Center on Thursday, January 4 at 6 p.m. They will hope to break the two-game losing streak. 

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