DEKALB, Ill. – Following a week long break for final exams, the Drake University women's basketball returns to the court this Saturday at Northern Illinois. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast online on ESPN3.
 
Drake (7-2) cruised past William Penn, 100-61, in its "Pack The Knapp" game back on Dec. 11. Junior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) led the Bulldogs in scoring with 17 points as five others joined her in double figures. Drake finished with 34 field goals, 27 assists and 12 three-pointers against the Statesmen.
 
The 100 points in the William Penn victory are a season-high for Drake, who leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks No. 17 in all of NCAA Division I in scoring at 81.3 points per game. The Bulldogs have topped the 80-point mark five times already in just nine games this season. Wendell is the top scorer in the MVC at 18.9 points a game, and already has four 20-plus scoring performances.
 
Northern Illinois (4-4) lost at Wisconsin Wednesday night as the Badgers used a big second half scoring run to secure the win. Ally Lehman leads the Huskies in scoring at 11.9 points per game and rebounding at 10.5 rebounds per game. NIU is led by first-year head coach Lisa Carlsen, who came to DeKalb after eight seasons as head coach at Division II Lewis University (Ill.).
 
Saturday's game renews a rivalry between Drake and Northern Illinois as the two teams last played in the 1980's with Drake winning all four games from 1982-85. The last meeting was Dec. 30, 1985, also in DeKalb, as the Bulldogs won by a score of 87-79.
 
Drake wraps up its non-conference schedule at Iowa on Dec. 22 with tipoff set for 5 p.m.