At halftime of Thursday’s game between Drake women’s basketball and UIC, Bulldogs’ star Courtney Becker was approached by her teammates and coaches.
Becker, who struggled shooting in the first half, was reminded by them how good she is at shooting and urged her to keep launching shots.
“I think it’s so easy to get down in a little funk when things aren’t going your way,” Becker said. “We work so hard for this and when it’s not going in your way, it’s so easy to let that affect you. So, it’s always nice to hear someone tell you, ‘Hey, I believe in you—you can do this.’’
The pep talk worked and Becker didn’t miss another shot Thursday. Her huge second half helped Drake rally from a two-point deficit at halftime to beat UIC, 86-63, at the Knapp Center. Becker finished with a game-high 26 points, five rebounds and two assists as the Bulldogs improved to 8-5 on the season and 2-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
“It was really awesome when they started to fall,” Becker said.
The shots fall at a rapid rate for the Bulldogs after a slow start to the first half. Drake was just 5-of-23 from beyond the arc and shot just 37.5% (15-for-40) through the first two quarters. Becker shot just 3-9 from the field and 1-4 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.
The struggles led to Drake falling behind to as many as seven in the second quarter before cutting it to just two points at the break. Drake coach Allison Pohlman talked to her team about rebounding better and getting more stops on defense.
“I think more than anything, from an offensive perspective, of really trying to feed the post, not necessarily from the top but more so from the wing,” Pohlman said. “Trying to take advantage of not even mismatches but our wing entry passes was where we were going to be able to get the ball into the interior.”
It worked. Drake rolled in the third quarter. In just over seven minutes, the Bulldogs turned a two-point deficit into a 20-point lead. Drake scored the first six points of the third quarter and took a 42-38 lead.
The Bulldogs hit nine of their first 10 shots from the field and went on a 20-2 run to take a commanding 56-40 lead. Becker was the catalyst behind it all. The Drake forward hit all six of her shots including a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 15 points in the quarter alone. Becker’s career-high four 3-pointers surpassed her entire season output of three entering the game.
“It was insane,” Becker said of the third quarter. “It was awesome. The fans were going crazy.”
They had plenty to cheer about as Drake outscored UIC 30-8 in the third and never looked back. Becker connected on her last nine shots on the day. Her 26 points were a career-high. Teammate Anna Miller, who made her first six shots, finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Drake point guard Katie Dinnebier added 16 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
Drake has rattled off six-straight victories, recovering from a five-game losing streak earlier in the season.
“Happy new year,” Pohlman said with a smile.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Courtney Becker scores 26 points in Drake women’s win over UIC
