DES MOINES, Iowa - A halftime blowout turned into a tense, down to the wire battle Thursday (Jan. 13) at the Knapp Center with the Drake University women's basketball earning a 68-64 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Bradley. Drake improved to 9-6 overall and 3-1 in the Valley.

Freshman Angela Christianson (Alexandria, Minn.) led Drake with 14 points, including a pair of clutch free throws with five seconds remaining that iced the contest.

After sophomore Kayla Person (St. Louis, Mo.) missed her second free throw with 10 seconds left and with Drake clinging to a slim 66-64 lead, Christianson grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled by Bradley's Olivia Allen. After Christianson made the ensuing free throws, Bradley made a desperation fast break, but senior Kristin Turk (Des Moines, Iowa) stole a pass and tossed the ball skyward as she fell out of bounds, depleting the clock and ensuring the Drake victory.

"That sealed the game right there," said head coach Amy Stephens of Christianson's free throws.

Drake used a 24-8 run over the final 11 minutes of the first half to build a 40-22 halftime lead, but Bradley answered by outscoring the Bulldogs 22-12 during the first 11 minutes of the second half. The run cut Drake's lead to a more manageable 52-44 advantage by the 8:45 mark of the second half.

"It was definitely a game of two halves," Stephens said. "We came out a little lethargic in the second half and never really got into a rhythm."

The Bulldogs won their first game of the season without Turk topping the 20-point mark. The senior finished with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting while adding four assists and four steals.

Drake earned its victory on the strength of the supporting cast. Freshman Morgan Reid (North Kansas City, Mo.) totaled nine points and seven boards, junior Alex Montgomery (Cannon Falls, Minn.) tied a season high with six points and Person added six points and three steals.

"We're getting contributions from other people," Stephens added. "That's really positive for our team."

Junior Rachael Hackbarth tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season and fifth of her career. Hackbarth fouled out of the game with three minutes to go.

Sophomore Katie Yohn led the visitors with 23 points while senior Raisa Taylor tallied 19. The combination of Yohn, Taylor and Latasha Hollingshed totaled 55 of Bradley's 64 points