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We have a women’s double header tonight with both the volleyball and basketball teams playing at 7:00pm CST.
First off, Husker women’s basketball team is taking on Drake tonight at Pinnacle Bank Arena in the first game of the season. It will be steamed on BTN/Plus. Get an update on this years squad by our very own RanchBabe here.
The volleyball team heads to Iowa City to take on Iowa. The game will be broadcast on BTN and streamed on BTN2GO.
There’s also MACtion going on tonight if you still need your mid week football fix.
Tonight we have the Mighty Bobcats of Ohio to the “cradle of coaches” in Miama, OH to take on the Red Hawks at 6:00pm CST on ESPNU. Following them at 7:00pm CST are the Toledo Rockets versus the Huskies of Northern Illinois on ESPN2.
Both should be moderately entertaining games and should keep the spirits up on this cold November night.
SCOUTING THE DRAKE BULLDOGS
Coach Jennie Baranczyk brings arguably her best and most experienced Drake team to Lincoln to open the season on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs return 10 letterwinners, including all five starters, from a squad that went 26-8 overall and 18-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference last season. Drake earned their second straight Valley title last season and made their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Drake’s top six players include three seniors and three juniors who make the Bulldogs an explosive offensive team that averaged 82.4 points per game in 2017-18. Overall, Drake features two fifth-year seniors, two fourth-year seniors, two fourth-year juniors and three traditional juniors.
The Bulldogs enter the season with two 1,000-point career scorers in Maddy Dean (1,212) and Sara Rhine (1,033) along with three players who will likely achieve 1,000 points by early in the Missouri Valley Conference season - Becca Hittner (894), Sammie Bachrodt (865) and Becca Jonas (842).
Junior Becca Hittner returns after averaging 15.7 points and 4.5 rebounds last season, while 6-1 junior forward Sara Rhine added 15.6 points and 6.1 boards. Junior wing Brenni Rose pitched in 8.4 points and 4.4 rebounds last season, including a team-high 20 points against Nebraska a year ago. Senior Maddy Dean averaged 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds, while senior guard Sammie Bachrodt contributed 10.0 points and 4.0 boards. Bachrodt has started all 100 games of her Drake career. Becca Jonas, a 6-2 senior post, added 6.4 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Drake’s roster has combined for 384 starts as Bulldogs, led by Bachrodt’s 100 and 92 from Jonas, along with 61 from Hittner and 55 from Dean. Nebraska’s roster has combined for 176 starts as Huskers - led by Nicea Eliely’s 55.
The Bulldogs have won 42 consecutive games against Missouri Valley Conference competition and have won 40 straight regular-season games in the Valley dating back to 2015-16. • Drake has earned four straight postseason tournament bids, including the 2017 and 2018 NCAA Tournament and the 2015 and 2016 WNIT.
NEBRASKA VS. DRAKE SERIES HISTORY
In a game that played a major role in Nebraska earning an NCAA Tournament bid in 2018, the Huskers shocked Drake with an 89-84 double-overtime win at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa, on Dec. 9, 2017.
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Drake 11-9, but the Bulldogs won the last meeting in
Lincoln, 84-70 on Dec. 6, 2016. • Drake owns a 6-5 advantage all-time in Lincoln, dating back to a 71-65 win over the Huskers at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on March 1, 1980 - the first meeting in series history. Nebraska carries a 5-3 edge over the Bulldogs in Des Moines.