MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Drake university women’s basketball team saw their record-setting 2023-24 campaign come to an end on Friday night. The No. 12 seed Bulldogs battled the No. 5 seed Colorado Buffaloes but were outmatched in the second half and came up short, 86-72.

The Bulldogs got the scoring started after Anna Miller outjumped star Colorado forward Aaronette Vonleh for the tip. The ball found its way to Courtney Becker all alone at the top of the key where she buried a triple. Becker gave Drake an early 5-0 lead after collecting an offensive rebound and finishing the putback on the Dogs’ next trip down the floor.

Dinnebier and Berg then went back-to-back to give the Bulldogs a 9-0 lead before the Buffaloes finally got on the board with a Quay Miller three-pointer.

Drake answered back to continue their hot start as Shannon Fornshell entered and promptly scored on a perfectly executed set. Fornshell’s bucket gave the Bulldogs an 11-3 lead and forced Colorado head coach JR Payne to burn an early timeout.

After the timeout, Colorado took no time getting right back in it as Vonleh scored five straight points. Sara-Rose Smith got on the board for the Buffs to cut the deficit to just one. On their next possession, Colorado took their first lead of the game as Jaylyn Sherrod went coast-to-coast and finished off a traditional three-point play.

The two teams traded blows through the remainder of the first period until a late five-point flurry by Colorado’s Maddie Nolan and Tameiya Sadler gave the Buffaloes a 24-21 advantage after one.

Colorado started the second quarter nearly as quickly as Drake did the game, scoring another five in a row to extend their run to 10-0 and their lead to 29-21. Katie Dinnebier halted the Buffaloes’ spurt with a three from the left wing. Sadler answered with a three of her own before Sherrod came up with a loose ball and scored a deuce to give Colorado its first double-digit lead.

Dinnebier did her best to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance with an 8-0 run of her own including an and-one three-point play. Becker added a layup of her own to get the difference down to four. Dinnebier added another trey as the shot clock was winding down to hack into Colorado’s lead further and get back within one point.

Colorado weathered Drake’s furious effort toward the end of the second quarter to lead 46-41 at the half.

Drake could not get much to fall in the early stages of the third quarter as the Buffaloes got out to another quick start, getting their lead back into double figures. Colorado continued to build their lead to 60-44, at the mid-third period media timeout.

Megan Meyer attempted to start a Bulldog rally with a transition three off a Katie Dinnebier feed. Free throws from Becker and McAualy added to Drake’s comeback, but Colorado again staved off the Bulldogs’ challenge with a last-second bunny to end the third quarter. The No. 5 seed Buffaloes led 71-53 after three.

Dinnebier eclipsed the 20-point mark shortly into the fourth quarter, marking her 13th 20+ point performance of the season. She led Drake in the game with 24 points and seven assists while grabbing four rebounds.

The Bulldogs continued to get good looks as the second half progressed, but just could not get most of those shots to fall. Taylor McAulay finally did from the deep corner to get back within 15. A Dinnebier deuce got the deficit under 15 for the first time in the fourth stanza.

The Colorado charge was constant in the second half and, despite their best efforts, just too much for Drake to match. Kindyll Wetta splashed in treys from both corners to re-extend the Buffaloes’ lead with just over three minutes remaining.

The Vonleh-and-Sherrod-led Buffaloes closed it out down the stretch as both benches were nearly emptied. Colorado advanced to the second round and a date with location hosts Kansas State with the 86-72 victory.

Courtney Becker was Drake’s second-leading scorer with 14 points and three boards. She also nabbed a career-high five steals. Taylor McAulay rounded out the Dogs’ offensive leaders with 13 points and added a team-high four rebounds and four steals.

The loss marked the second-straight for Drake in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs were also a No. 12 seed last season when they lost to No. 5 Louisville. The defeat also halted a 14-game winning streak, the longest stretch of Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman’s tenure.

Despite the result, the Drake women still put together a record-setting campaign with a program-record 29 wins, a Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year recipient, and a pair of conference championships in the regular season and league tournament.