Negaard providing firepower off bench for Drake women
By John Kemmeter
of The Gazette
STEVENS POINT — Former Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) standout Maggie Negaard has earned an expanded role off the bench for the NCAA Division 1 Drake University women’s basketball team this season.
After playing in 18 games as a reserve last season as a freshman during the Bulldogs’ run to the NCAA Tournament, Negaard is the top scorer off the bench for Drake so far this season.
In high school, Negaard finished her career as SPASH’s all-time leader in scoring and assists, as she was a two-time Wisconsin Valley Conference Player of the Year and an All-State selection as a senior in 2017-18.
As a freshman last season, the 5-10 guard appeared in 18 games off the bench and averaged 0.7 points in 5.0 minutes per game for Drake, which won the Missouri Valley Conference Title with a 17-1 record and finished 27-7 overall after a 77-76 overtime loss to Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
This season as a sophomore, Negaard scored a career-high with 15 points off the bench in an 83-82 win over Auburn Dec. 1, as she shot 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 on three-pointers, and finished with four assists.
Negaard followed with 15 points and eight assists in a 103-18 win over Waldorf (0-4), and leads the Bulldogs in scoring off the bench with 4.9 points in 14.6 minutes per game, and is also averaging 2.1 assists and shooting 35.7 percent on three-pointers.
Drake also has a nonconference win over Iowa State (86-81) this season, but suffered back-to-back losses to Oklahoma (93-84) and Iowa (79-67) to fall to 7-4 overall heading into Christmas.
Drake was scheduled to face Northern Illinois Dec. 29, and then open the Missouri Valley Conference schedule at home against Northern Iowa on Jan. 3 at 6 p.m.