Friday night in Cedar Falls, the Drake women’s basketball team had a chance to rebound from an unexpected loss to Indiana State on Sunday and reclaim first place in the Missouri Valley. But the Bulldogs couldn’t take advantage.
Drake was doomed by a sluggish start and couldn’t recover in the second half before falling to the first-place UNI Panthers, 85-74. It marked the first time this season the Bulldogs have dropped two consecutive conference games.
Drake sits tied with Missouri State for second in the MVC with a 10-4 conference record and four regular-season games remaining.
After UNI held off Drake in the final moments in their first matchup of the season, the encore — the MVC’s best offense (Drake) against its best defense (UNI) — was expected to be another tight contest.