CORALVILLE — Despite staying within reach all throughout, Drake women’s basketball never found the second-half push it needed to keep its season alive.
The No. 6 seed Bulldogs suffered a 69-62 Missouri Valley Tournament quarterfinal loss to No. 3 seed Illinois State (20-12) at Xtream Arena. The March 13 loss was much different than when these teams met eight days earlier on March 5, which ended with a 73-55 Drake victory.
A look at what stood out from the quarterfinal loss.
The Bulldogs kept Illinois State from zooming away, but couldn’t muster a serious second-half challenge.
A 9-0 Illinois State run early in the second half stuck Drake (12-20) in its first double-digit hole, and the Bulldogs never climbed out of it. Although Drake made sporadic pushes in the fourth quarter, the Illinois State cushion hovered between seven and 11 points until the Bulldogs briefly got within five at 67-62 with 30 seconds left.
Too much chasing, though, prevented a serious rally.
“You’ve got to give Illinois State credit for how they guarded us,” senior guard Abbie Aalsma said. “They scouted us really well and came with a really good plan on how to stop our actions. It did stifle us a bit, but I do like how our team stuck together and believed and got what we could get.”
Abbie Aalsma delivered all she could in her final collegiate outing.
Even in defeat, Aalsma went down swinging with a productive outing. Her game-high 24 points on 10-for-21 shooting, including 4-for-8 from deep, arrived against the team that kicked off her career.
After spending her freshman and sophomore seasons at Illinois State, Aalsma thrived at Drake during the back half of her career. A senior season that featured career-highs across the board in minutes, points, rebounds, assists and steals per game had Aalsma reflecting positively amid disappointment.
“The best thing ever,” Aalsma said. “I’m really grateful for my coach and this university. It’s a culture that’s really unique and special. I’m thankful to have been a part of it.”
A “roller-coaster” season ended with Drake trending upward despite the MVC Tournament disappointment.
Although Drake had the fewest wins and most losses since the 2012-13 campaign, the Bulldogs salvaged a decent ending by winning six of their final nine games.
With just three seniors departing, albeit two significant ones in Aalsma and guard Ava Hawthorne, head coach Allison Pohlman hopes the productive finish can spill over into next season.
“We had a very roller-coaster type of season,” Pohlman said. “I think what we were able to do is develop some chemistry down the stretch and put our best foot forward and continue to grow and gain some maturity and a ton of experience for a lot of younger players.”
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake women’s basketball takeaways as season ends vs. Illinois State
Reporting by Dargan Southard, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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