DES MOINES, Iowa – Katie Dinnebier’s career-high 27 points carried the Drake women’s basketball team to a 77-66 victory over Louisiana Tech at the Knapp Center on Friday afternoon in the opening game of the Bulldogs’ Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic.

Dinnebier sparked two key spurts when the Bulldogs (4-1) needed a lift in topping her previous best of 24 points, which she had reached twice. The 5-foot-8 junior finished 8-for-13 from the field – seven driving layups and a 3-pointer – sank all 10 of her free throws, handed out four assists and made four steals.

Grace Berg added 21 points, including 16 in the second half, when Drake outscored the Lady Techsters 44-29 in taking control of the game. A graduate senior, Berg passed Maddy Dean and Erin Richards to move into 25^th place on Drake’s career scoring list with 1,340 points.

Berg made 7-of-11 shots from the field with a 3-pointer and knocked down all six of her free throws. Anna Miller also reached double figures for the Bulldogs, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

The Bulldogs were looking for a bounce-back victory after their loss at then-No. 2 Iowa last Sunday and they got it, though they had to work for it against an aggressive Louisiana Tech bunch.

The Lady Techsters, whose rich history includes 13 Final Four appearances and three national championships, took early leads of 7-2 and 10-4 as the Bulldogs missed shots and surrendered a handful of turnovers.

Drake eventually pulled to a 20-16 lead on consecutive baskets by Dinnebier and freshman Shannon Fornshell, but the Bulldogs went scoreless over the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second quarter and the Lady Techsters ran off 11 straight points for a 29-20 lead.  Fornshell buried a 3 from the top of the key to end the drought, but Tech came right back with six straight for a 35-23 lead.

That’s when Dinnebier took over the first time, accounting for all the points in a 10-2 run that drew Drake to 37-33 at halftime. She sank two free throws, fed Berg for a backdoor layup, then scored the final six points of the half, the last coming when she stole the ball and beat the halftime buzzer for a layup.

The Lady Techsters got the lead up to 46-39 midway through the third quarter before Dinnebier and the Bulldogs struck again. Katie scored six points and Berg had four in a 12-0 spurt that lifted Drake into a 51-46 lead. The Bulldogs led the rest of the way.

Drake stretched the lead to 70-59 when Dinnebier drove for yet another bucket to cap a 6-0 run. The Bulldogs then finished it off by making 7-of-8 free throws, Dinnebier sinking the last four.

This was Drake’s fourth meeting with Louisiana Tech but the first since Jan. 19, 1988. Louisiana Tech won the three previous. Anna Larr Roberson, Robyn Lee and Silvia Nativi scored 14 points each to lead the Lady Techsters.

Drake shot 62.5 percent in the second half and 51 percent for the game while holding Tech to 38.7 percent shooting.

“[Louisiana Tech] a really good team,” Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. “I thought we would’ve had a few more opportunities on the glass, but they really locked us up. We showed a lot of growth, especially down the stretch managing the game. Katie [Dinnebier] was ready [for the challenge]. Our transition game in the second half and points in the paint were great. We finished really well, and continue to grow.”

The Bulldogs will play again at 2 p.m. Saturday, meeting Richmond. They’ll finish play in the weekend event against Maine at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Game Notables

• Iowa improves to 3-1 all-time against Seton Hall, including posting wins in back-to-back years.
• The win is head coach Fran McCaffery’s 265th as Iowa’s head coach, seven wins shy of becoming the winningest coach in school history.
• Junior Payton Sandfort scored a season-high 22 points and went 7-of-14 from the field, including four 3-pointers.  He also had a team-high nine rebounds.
  • He was named to the Rady Children’s Invitational All-Tournament team.
  • It is his second 20-point game of the season and the ninth of his career.
  • It is Sandfort’s second game this season with four or more 3-pointers and the eighth such game of his career.
• Graduate Ben Krikke scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, making a season-high 80 percent of his attempts.  He also tied for the team lead with five assists.
  • He has been in double figures in every game this season.
  • Krikke has shot at least 60 percent from the field in four games.
• The Hawkeyes had at least four players reach double figures for the fifth time in six games – Sandfort, Krikke, Tony Perkins (14), Patrick McCaffery (10).
• Iowa shot a season-high 56.4 percent from the floor, making 31-of-55 field goals.
  • It is the fourth time this season the team has shot at least 50 percent.
• Iowa finished with 20 assists on its 31 field goals.  It’s fourth game with at least 20 assists.
• Iowa shot 60 percent from the field in the first half, making 18-of-30 field goals.  It is the team’s best shooting first half of the season and second-best overall shooting half (61.8 – second half vs. North Dakota).
  • Krikke and Perkins scored 17 of Iowa’s first 22 points in the game… Iowa led 15-4 over first five minutes and by as many as 18 (36-18) in the first half.
• The Hawkeyes limited Seton Hall to 27.5 percent (11-of-40) in the first half – the lowest shooting half of the season.  The Pirates missed 11 straight shots for a 6 ½ minute stretch in the opening 20 minutes.
  • Seton Hall had a 36.0 field goal percentage this season, the second lowest by an opponent.

Up Next

Iowa returns to action Wednesday, hosting North Florida at 8 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  The game will be televised on BTN.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Iowa State (2-2, 0-0 Big 12) fell to unbeaten Vanderbilt (6-0, 0-0 SEC) on Friday afternoon in its first game at the South Point Shootout. Despite a 12-point halftime deficit, the Cyclones worked to get back within 43-40 at the end of the third quarter but were limited to 13 fourth-quarter points while the Commodores made 10-of-11 free throws to close out the contest.

Audi Crooks led the Cyclones with 14 points, finishing 6-of-9 from the floor, while Addy Brown chipped in 11 points with five rebounds and three assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Iowa State and Vanderbilt traded baskets through most of the first quarter until an 8-0 run gave the Cyclones a 12-9 advantage in the final minute of the period. Isnelle Natabou put the Cyclones on the board following a Vandy triple, and Addy Brown hit her first basket of the night on a step back jumper to stay within 5-4.

The Commodores score back-to-back field goals before Brown made a layup driving to the basket that started the Cyclone rally. Crooks completed a 3-point play, drawing contact on a made layup under the basket before making her free throw to tie the game. Iowa State took its first lead on a Kelsey Joens triple, but Vanderbilt hit a jumper to pull within 12-11 at the end of the quarter.

Vanderbilt continued the run by scoring the first six point of the second quarter before another Crooks layup ended the streak. The Cyclones would only produce one more score in the half on a Natabou layup that saw ISU get back within 20-16, but Vanderbilt scored the final eight points to hold the 28-16 lead at halftime. Iowa State shot just 18 percent from the floor in the quarter.

The Cyclones slowly worked their way back in the third quarter, trading scores throughout the first five minutes of the period. Nyamer Diew provided a spark for ISU, scoring seven of her 10 total points in the run to keep the Cyclones within striking distance. With just over three minutes left in the quarter, Iowa State’s offense ignited for a 10-2 run to close the quarter. Crooks made a layup before Diew blocked a shot and moved the ball down the floor to Joens, who hit her second 3-pointer of the night to make it a six-point ballgame. Brown added back-to-back scores, including a putback layup following a 3-pointer miss and completed a 3-point play after drawing a foul on a layup under the basket.

Crooks cut the deficit to one to start the fourth quarter, making a layup to put Iowa State within 43-42. Vanderbilt scored 11 of the next 12 before Diew knocked down a triple to stay within eight points. The Commodores score the next five, but Crooks completed her second 3-point play of the night with another layup and free throw. But Vanderbilt scored nine of the final 13 points to secure the win and remain undefeated.

TOP PERFORMANCE

Audi Crooks led Iowa State with 14 points and four rebounds. Finishing 6-of-9 from the floor, she shot at or above .500 in each of ISU’s four games this season. Crooks is shooting nearly 70 percent from the floor this season, a top mark by a Big 12 freshman and second overall in the conference.

UP NEXT

Iowa State takes on Syracuse tomorrow (Saturday), November 25^th in game two of the South Point Shootout. Tipoff against the Orange is set for 1 p.m. CT.

Iowa State will look to end Iowa’s domination in Cy-Hawk wrestling in Sunday’s dual in Ames. The Hawkeyes have won 18th straight in the series and 33 of the last 34. The Cyclones’ last victory was in 2004.

That’s Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser. Sunday will mark the first time ESPN has televised a dual meet.

Iowa coach Tom Brands says the atmosphere will be electric.

Brands says ESPN will provide a great showcase for the sport and the state.

……………

Iowa State closes the regular season on the road at 19th ranked Kansas State. The recent history of this series has featured close games. Six of the last nine have been decided by five points or less.

That’s Iowa State coach Matt Campbell who says it will take a big effort to get this road win.

With further expansion of the Big 12 this series will not be a protected rivalry and will no longer be played on an annual basis.

The Cyclones are 6-5. The Wildcats are 8-3.