The Valley flexes its muscles
Northern Iowa beat Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena 57-55 — the first time in 21 years. Illinois State beat Miami of Ohio 64-46. Bradley got a 88-49 win over Wright State, and Evansville squeaked by Valparaiso 69-65. No to mention, Wichita State is 10th in the AP poll. Tenth!
Hopefullly the Drake men's team watched the Panthers beat the Hawkeyes and will now think, "Hey, we can do that, too."
Northern Iowa cracked the key for Drake already. Contain Adam Haluska, get Tyler Smith into foul trouble and get the big men to score some points. Aliou Keita had a great game against the Hawkeyes in 2004. So hopefully he can do it again. He shouldn't have any trouble going against Hawkeye center Kurt Looby. He had more fouls against the Panthers than points.
Are you going to the Dec. 16 game?
On the women's side, the Valley wasn't so muscular. Drake lost to Iowa State 70-62 in Ames. The Bulldogs, who were a preseason pick to finish atop the Valley, will be challenged to live up to those expectations without senior forward Jill Martin, who will miss the rest of the season due to a back injury. Luckily for Martin and Drake, there's always next year. Martin received a medical hardship redshirt from the NCAA and will be able to play for the team next year.
How do you think the Drake women will fare now without its star forward who averaged 20 points per game?
posted by Jennifer R. @ 9:14 PM
5 Comments:
Jill Martin is a HUGE loss for the Drake women. She would have been a four-year starter, the leading offensive production, quite possibly the best three-point percentage shooter and a definitely some big leverage. Brandy Dahir stepped it up against Iowa State, but Kelsey Keizer and Michelle Anderson will have to do more than they thought this year. I didn't get to watch the ISU game, but Keizer looked good in the pre-season game against Nebraska-Kearney. Stronger, quicker, more confident. All pluses for Drake. I had high hopes for the women this season, but I can't help but think Martin's red-shirting will make next year's team that much better. Dahir, Whorton, Martin, Plummer, Brady. A great lineup anyway, but with another year under the belt for Plummer and Brady, that lineup is going to do some damage.
I have a friend, Don Smith, who refuses to give the Valley credit. My hope is that Valley by it's play on the court will prove him wrong.
Iowa had UNI in hand and let it slip away. I hope they learned something from that lose and take it out on ISU. We'll see if "Beating Iowa is way to much fun", for Mac.
John R
Coach Stephens needs to put all her kids in a bubble or something. Now Jordann Plummer is hurt. Broken foot. Good golly, what has Sodexho put in the water that is making these girls crumble? After the Iowa State game, I would have said that the Bulldogs could still pull off a Valley win. It would be tougher, but the Valley isn't as strong this year as it has been in years past. But without their starting point guard? Kaneisha Agee is going to have to step it up. Or, maybe Stephens will have Brady or Whorton taking care of the ball and put Dybing into the open wing spot. I don't know, but I trust her decision. Either way, these girls need to take care of themselves and use these injuries as motivation to kick some Valley ass.
Am I allowed to say "ass" on here?
Well, Angie, you've said it twice. And based on the audience, I don't think anyone will be offended.
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