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Drake women top Auburn in final game at Gulf Coast Showcase

Sports

December 2nd, 2019 by admin

(godrakebulldogs.com) ESTERO, Fla. – In a back-and-forth contest that featured 13 lead changes and 12 ties, the Drake University women’s basketball team erased an 11-point, third-quarter deficit to defeat Auburn, 83-82, Sunday afternoon in the team’s final Gulf Coast Showcase game at Hertz Arena.

Sara Rhine scored a team-high 22 points, none bigger than her two free throws with 7.8 seconds left in the game that gave Drake (6-2) the lead for good as it defeated an SEC school for the second-straight season.

Sophomore Maggie Negaard scored a career-high 15 points, including seven in the 11-0 run that carried from the third quarter to the final quarter. Rhine had the other four points in the run. Kierra Collier also scored 15 points. Becca Hittner was the other Bulldog in double-figures with 10 points. Brenni Rose just missed with nine points and she added eight assists. Negaard dished out a career-high four assists.

Negaard’s layup tied the game at 66-66 with 8:58 left in the game, but Auburn (3-4) countered with six consecutive points to lead 72-66. Freshman Sarah Beth Gueldner answered with her fourth three-pointer in the last two games. Rhine followed with a pair of free throws and Hittner made one of two free throws to pull even at 72-all with 3:53 left. Rhine made a layup to give the Bulldogs the lead briefly before Auburn briefly took it back with a three-point play. But Rhine made another layup, Rose made her own and Hittner knocked down her only three-pointer to quickly put Drake up six.

The Tigers though responded with seven-straight points by Daisa Alexander, who finished with 24 points, to lead by one with 15 seconds left after she made two free throws. Drake called a timeout to set up a play from midcourt as Hittner missed a three but Rhine rebounded the miss and was fouled. She calmly knocked down both free throws.

Auburn then called timeout to set up its only play. The Tigers then missed two shots and after the final miss the ball went out of bounds as the game clock hit zero. However, the officials reviewed both possession and time left on the clock. They put 0.5 seconds back on the clock and determined it was Auburn’s basketball. On the inbounds pass, Hittner stole the basketball as the horn sounded for certain to secure the Bulldogs’ win.

Drake outscored Auburn, 44-27, in the paint. The Tigers made 13 three-pointers with four by Alexander and seven by Lauren Hansen, who also finished with 24 points. The Bulldogs’ bench outscored the Tigers’ 27-14 as Monica Burich had four points and seven rebounds.

Following its final game in Florida, Drake returns to the Knapp Center Thursday, Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. against Waldorf University for the annual “Pack the Knapp” game hosted by The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University. The game is sold out and will feature several thousand local elementary and middle school students for a fun-filled school trip of Bulldogs’ basketball, educational and character development activities inside the Knapp.