The Drake and Northern Iowa women meet, tonight, in Missouri Valley Conference action in Cedar Falls. The Panthers won the first matchup 61-55 in Des Moines back on January sixth but coach Tony DiCecco says this is a different Bulldog team that is playing so much better than last month. DiCecco says they’ve learned how to play with the players they have.
A 69-66 win over Indiana State snapped a string of close losses by the Panthers who dropped three two-point games in January. DiCecco says a lot of it comes down to the last few possessions and they have not been strong enough to finish, but he helps the win turns that around.
After an 0-7 start to the Valley race Drake has won two straight and coach Amy Stephens’ team has a better outlook heading into the second half of the league race. Stephens says if they can continue going into games with 9 healthy players, then they believe they can win games.
This begins a two-game road trip for the Bulldogs who visit Bradley this weekend. Stephens says they have their hands full, but are encouraged that they’re doing better than they were one month ago. Drake is 7-12 overall. UNI is 5-4 in the Valley and 11-9 overall.