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Ingle sparks No. 20 Drake women to MWC Tournament title

Sports

March 12th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — Caitlin Ingle’s jumper sent the game into overtime where she scored five points and led No. 20 Drake over Northern Iowa 74-69 on Sunday for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship and the Bulldogs’ conference-record 22nd consecutive victory.

The top-seeded Bulldogs (28-4) were making their 12th tournament title-game appearance, winning their sixth championship and first since 2007. Ingle, the tournament MVP and the conference’s all-time assists leader, scored a career-high 22 points, with seven assists and six rebounds.

With 5.5 seconds left in regulation, Ellie Herzberg came off a screen, took a pass from Madison Weekly and hit a 3-pointer to give UNI (24-8) the lead. After a timeout, Ingle made her tying jumper from the free-throw line.

In overtime, Herzberg and Becca Jonas exchanged 3-pointers before Ingle was fouled while scoring on a drive and completed the 3-point play. Ingle added a short bank shot before Becca Hittner made a free throw for a six-point edge. Herzberg made her fifth and final 3-pointer with 23 seconds left before Drake’s Lizzy Wendell capped the scoring with two free throws.