Hannah Draxten had 17 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough.

Despite the Hawkeye sophomore-to-be’s great game, L.L. Pelling/Cullen Painting fell, 80-73, to Coralville Hy-Vee on Thursday in Game Time League action.

Draxten, who finished with a game-high 21 points, as well as a team-high 10 rebounds, was 8-for-13 from the field. Overall, she was happy with her individual performance.

“My defense, I think, could have been a little better, but there were some good parts and some weaker parts,” she said.

She said her Pelling/Cullen squad continues to get better with each game.

Coralville Hy-Vee spread the points around in the win. Iowa junior-to-be Kachine Alexander and incoming freshman Morgan Johnson each had 14, while junior-to-be Kelsey Cermak finished with 12 points.

Alexander and Johnson also dominated the glass en route to victory. Alexander had 16 rebounds, and Johnson pulled down 10.

“I think I did decently; I think I contributed,” Johnson said. “I shot free throws a lot better, and I showed some improvement … I was happy.”

She was pleased that her team won the game.

“I was excited that we won the game — we came out and came from behind,” she said.

In addition to Draxten’s performance, Rachele Monroe and Sarah Anciaux had standout games in defeat. Monroe finished with 12 points and three rebounds, and Anciaux chipped in 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

Despite losing the game, Pelling/Cullen shot better from the field, 39 percent to 36 percent.

“We try to do the same thing every time, just play the game the right way, play good defense, pass the ball,” Larson said. “And let everybody touch it, and try to figure out your matchups. But just playing hard and doing all the little things right.”

He also liked how the team never gave up.

“What I really liked was, with three-and-a-half to go, we were down 15 or 16, and we cut it to seven,” he said.

Because of the lopsided start of the second half, Larson was able to give the younger women, who normally wouldn’t be on the floor for as long as they were, more experience.

Pelling/Cullen started off with a quick lead, but lost it and never gained it back. Larson said Coralville Hy-Vee won for a reason.

“We have a very young team; I think we’ll get better as the summer goes on, but they might be better than we are right now,” Larson said. “I didn’t think either [Trisha] Nesbitt or [Trisha] Van Dusseldorp had very good games, and that happens sometimes. They’re both young, they’re both going to be freshmen this fall, and they’ll get better.”

Pelling/Cullen’s next game is slated June 30 against Goodfellow Printing/Imprinted Sportswear; Coralville Hy-Vee’s next game is on the same date against Active Endeavors/McCurry’s.