DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team opens the Missouri Valley Conference season Friday night at the Knapp Center against league newcomer Valparaiso. Tipoff with the Crusaders is set for 7 p.m. and the MVC opener for both teams will be broadcast on The Valley on ESPN3.
 
Drake (5-7), the preseason league favorite, begins MVC action against Valparaiso (7-4) after playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation as ranked by the NCAA at No. 27. Friday night, the Bulldogs will try to snap a three-game losing streak and avoid a four-game losing skid, which hasn't happened for the program since the 2013-14 campaign.
 
Drake will look to bring the momentum it had against No. 25/25 Iowa in its non-conference finale when the Bulldogs outscored the Hawkeyes, 39-33, in the final two quarters of a 79-66 defeat. Sophomore guard Becca Hittner (Urbandale, Iowa) helped lead the rally attempt versus Iowa with 21 of her career-high 27 points coming in the final two periods.
 
Friday night will feature the two top scoring teams in the MVC in Drake (82.9) and Valparaiso (71.8), which joined the Valley in July, 2017 from the Horizon League after the departure of Wichita State to the American Athletic Conference. The Crusaders are led in scoring by Cedar Rapids native and senior Dani Franklin, who averages a league-best 18.0 points per game. The Bulldogs counter with redshirt sophomore Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.), who ranks third at 16.6 and Hittner, who is fifth at 15.3.
 
The two teams have played just twice before with Drake owning a 2-0 advantage. The last meeting played in Nov., 1995 resulted in a forfeit victory rewarded to Drake after Valparaiso was later found to have used an ineligible player.
 
Following Friday's game, the Bulldogs will host a New Years Eve contest against Loyola on Sunday. Tipoff with the Ramblers is scheduled for 2 p.m.