Box Score

DES MOINES, Iowa - Taylor Johnson scored a team-high 20 points and Taylor Manuel recorded her third straight double-double as Drake defeated Loyola in overtime, 74-70, this afternoon at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa. The Bulldogs move to 20-9 overall (15-3 Missouri Valley) with the win, while the Ramblers wrap up the 2014-15 regular season with a record of 5-24 (3-15 Missouri Valley).

As was the case in Thursday's matchup with Northern Iowa, offense was at a premium in the game's early stages. Manuel scored the first five points of the afternoon for the Maroon & Gold to give the Ramblers a 5-3 lead with five minutes gone. Following a Becca Jonas bucket that knotted the game up at five, Johnson knocked down her first two shots to put Loyola in front by four (9-5) with 13:07 to play. Another five-point spurt from Manuel later in the half bumped the margin up to six (14-8) with nine minutes remaining.

Maddy Dean's second triple of the half ignited a 12-2 run for the hosts that saw Drake take its largest lead of the first half (20-16) with 4:01 to play. Baskets on consecutive trips from Johnson and Destiny Washington brought the score to 20 all. Simone Law converted on a layup with 20 seconds left in the half to give the Ramblers the lead back (22-20) before Caitlin Ingle drained a jumper to send the game into halftime all square at 22.

Loyola closed the opening stanza at just under 39% from the field (10-of-26), while holding a high-powered Drake offense to only 25% efficiency (8-of-32). Manuel led all scorers in the first half with 10 points to go along with six rebounds. Johnson trailed closely behind her with eight points. Maddy Dean paced the Drake attack with nine points, all of which came from beyond the three-point arc. The Ramblers held Lizzy Wendell, who came into the afternoon as the Valley's leading scorer, scoreless in the first half on 0-of-5 shooting.

Drake looked to come out and take control of the game early on in the second half, scoring first six points, four of which came from Wendell. The Ramblers answered back, pulling to within one (29-28) after Bailey Farley knocked down her first three-pointer of the day and was fouled, connecting on the ensuing free throw to complete a four-point play. Another triple from Farley, followed in rapid succession by a three from Washington, saw the Ramblers take a four-point lead (36-32) at the 14:24 mark of the second half. Farley buried another trey to bring the advantage to five (39-34) with just over 13 minutes to play.

Following a Manuel score from close range that extended the margin to six (42-36), Jonas put home the next six points to tie the game at 42 with 9:55 remaining. Neither team was able to gain separation as time began to tick away in regulation. Another Manuel bucket and an acrobatic layup from Johnson opened up a four-point lead (54-50) with 3:37 to go. Wendell and Farley traded threes to keep the margin at four (57-53) at the 3:05 mark before Ingle scored four straight points to level the game (57-57) for the 11th time. Johnson knocked down another jumper to put Loyola on top by two (59-57) with 27 seconds to play but Ingle responded by hitting two pressure-packed free throws to even the game up at 59, prompting a Rambler timeout with 16 seconds to play. Manuel drained a pair of free throws with only 2.8 seconds showing to put the Ramblers in front by two (61-59). A desperation heave by Drake ultimately ended up in the hands of Jonas, who banked in a layup as time expired to send the game into overtime in a 61-61 deadlock.

The two teams continued to trade blows as overtime began. Wendell and Farley opened the extra session by each connecting from distance to tie the game for the 14th time (64-64) with 4:28 to play. Johnson responded to two Carly Grenfell makes from the charity stripe with another basket of her own to knot the game up at 66 with just over two minutes remaining. Washington's final bucket of the day gave Loyola a slim one-point lead (68-67) with 48 seconds left. Wendell came up with another clutch three to put the hosts back on top (70-68) on Drake's next trip down the floor. The Ramblers were unable to score on the ensuing possession as the Bulldogs put the game on ice from the free throw line to secure their 20th victory of the season.

Johnson was joined in double figures in scoring by Manuel (19 points), who also came away with 11 rebounds, Farley (16 points) and Washington (11 points). Farley connected on a career-best five three-point shots, while Washington tied Loyola's single-game blocks record with seven rejections. Wendell bounced back from a rough first-half performance to lead the Bulldogs on the day with 20 points.

With the regular season complete, Loyola can now turn its attention to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Ramblers will open play at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. as the nine-seed on Thursday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. when they face eighth-seeded Bradley.