DES MOINES, Iowa - The Winona State women's basketball team opened the 2016 campaign against the Bulldogs of Drake University. The Bulldogs were able to pull away as the Warriors fell 74-63 in the first of two exhibition games against NCAA Division I teams.
After the Bulldogs got the first bucket of the game the Warriors went on a 9-0 run in the first five and a half minutes before the Bulldogs were able to get a 3-pointer to slow them down. The two teams would battle back and forth for the rest of the quarter but WSU held a one point lead after the first quarter.
Kayla Timmerman started the second quarter with a jumper extending the Winona State lead to three but the Warriors wouldn't score again until getting a 3-pointer from Kali Hackmann with 3:49 led in the half. During that time the Warriors would take a 32-25 lead. A free throw from the Bulldogs was followed up by a layup from Hackmann closing the gap to six points, the closest the Warriors would get for the remainder of the half. A 3-pointer from MaKena Panning and layup by Gabie Doud to end the half would place them 11 points behind the Bulldogs, 43-32, heading into the locker room.
The Bulldogs began to stretch their lead in the third quarter. Jenny Tuttle contributed two 3-pointers and Liz Evenocheck added one of her own. A jumper from Timmerman and two free throws from Panning cut the Bulldogs' lead to 12 at the end of the third quarter.
Timmerman would open the final quarter with a block and 3-pointer to cut the Bulldogs lead to nine. Two Bulldog free throws a couple minutes later would push their lead back to 11. With a layup and a jumper from Doud the Warriors would cut the Bulldogs lead to just seven with 6:48 left in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs would counter and push their lead back to 14 with 2:52 left to play. Winona State would cut that lead to 11 before the final buzzer sounded.
The Warriors shot 36 percent (24-67) from the field, while shooting 38 percent (10-26) from 3-point range. The Bulldogs shot 37 percent (28-75) from the field, including 25 percent (12-48) from behind the arc. Winona State hit five of seven free throws, while Drake made six of their 10 opportunities.
Kayla Timmerman led the scoring for the Warriors with 15 points followed by Jenny Tuttle with 11. Tuttle led the team with five assists. Hannah McGlone was the top rebounder with eight, followed by Timmerman with six. Both Timmerman and Tuttle had three triples on the night.
The Warriors are back on the road this Sunday to Madison, Wis. to face the Wisconsin Badgers for a 4 p.m. tip-off.
