Drake women's basketball takeaways: Katie Dinnebier shows she's ready for the college spotlight
After securing the first win of her head coaching career, Drake's Allison Pohlman walked into the locker room at the Knapp Center and was greeted by her entire team. The Bulldogs celebrated her victory by cheering and dousing her with water.
"Head to toe," Pohlman said, smiling.
The 82-79 victory over Creighton was an exciting debut for Pohlman. The longtime Drake assistant coach took over the program when Jennie Baranczyk left for Oklahoma. The Bulldogs kicked off a new era with a big win.
Katie Dinnebier, a freshman from Waukee, hit a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs a season-opening victory. Dinnebier finished with nine points while fellow freshman Anna Miller added a team-high 17 points. Drake needed every one of them after letting a 17-point second-half lead disappear following a 14-0 run by Creighton in the third quarter.
Creighton tied the score at 79-79 on a 3-pointer by Morgan Maly with 27 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. That set the stage for Dinnebier, who took a pass from Allie Wooldridge and knocked down the game-winning basket.
"I saw my defender fall to the floor and just knew that I had to get a shot up, had to get something with time running down," Dinnebier said.
Some takeaways from Wednesday's game:
Huge basket by Dinnebier
There are high hopes for Dinnebier now that she's at Drake. She is expected to play a big role for the Bulldogs this season. Just one game into her college career, she already has. Dinnebier had the nine points, four rebounds and one assist. But the biggest moment came in the fourth quarter.
More: Drake women's basketball looks to continue success under new coach Allison Pohlman, new players
Shortly after Creighton tied the score, Pohlman put the ball in the hands of Dinnebier. Dinnebier drove to the lane but couldn't find anywhere to go. So she fired off a pass to Wooldridge, who passed it back out to Dinnebier. The freshman then knocked down the big shot. The moment wasn't "too big" for Dinnebier, who proved to be a clutch performer as Waukee won a state championship last season.
"I honestly think and I think we all know this, that's going to be the first of many glimpses of Katie Dinnebier we see at the end of games," Pohlman said.
Third-quarter defense was concerning
The Bulldogs couldn't get any stops in the third quarter. It led to the 17-point lead disappearing as Creighton knocked down a barrage of 3-pointers and went on a 14-0 run to cut Drake's lead to two.
Creighton struggled with its shooting in the first half, then took advantage of some mismatches after halftime and Drake was slow to recover. The Bluejays shot 40.3% (14-for-39) from the field for the game and got right back into it thanks to the third-quarter success.
"We just didn't adjust," Pohlman said. "We were a little bit slower with our rotations. The natural tendency is to really cover the paint and then out when what we needed to do with this team was really cover out and then the paint."
Anna Miller was impressive
The freshman from Minnesota got her college career off to a strong start. Miller scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds, most of that damage coming in the first half.
She was efficient as well, shooting 8-of-14 from the field. Miller averaged 20 points and 12.8 rebounds per game as a high school senior. It won't always be smooth sailing, but Miller showed that she could have a promising college career.
"She's only begun to touch her potential," Pohlman said.
Bulldogs are still a force on offense
Pohlman will add her own touches to the program, but she's made sure to keep Drake's fast-paced offense. The Bulldogs didn't appear to miss a beat. They shot 49.2% (32-of-65) from the field and 44.4% (8-18) from 3-point range.
'Allison is the real deal': Why Allison Pohlman is ready to lead Drake women's basketball
Layups and 3-pointers have been the calling card of the Bulldogs offense in recent years and Wednesday night was no different. Drake tallied 46 points in the paint and focused its attention on high-percentage shots in the lane, particularly in the first half.
The 3-point shooting will likely pick up as the season goes along. But Drake's offense appears to be in a good spot.
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake women's basketball: Katie Dinnebier delivers on the big stage
