DES MOINES, Iowa - Senior Kristin Turk scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Drake University women's basketball team to a thrilling 67-58 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Illinois State Thursday (Feb. 17) at the Knapp Center.

Turk (Des Moines, Iowa) scored 18 points in the second half, including six in the last 43 seconds to close out the win.

"I'm proud of our team, it was a good win to get," said head coach Amy Stephens. "It's the win we've been looking for all season. We've come close a couple times, but tonight we got it."

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Drake (13-12, 7-7) used a 20-4 run that spanned both halves to rally from a 10-point deficit and build a double-digit lead.

Illinois State opened a 15-2 run with 13 minutes remaining, jumping to a 23-13 lead by the 7:42 mark of the first half. Drake answered, closing the opening half with a 14-4 run to tie the game at 27 as the teams entered the locker rooms.

The Bulldogs scored the first six points of the second half to earn a 33-27 lead at the 17-minute mark of the second half. Drake held the pressure, pushing its lead to 13 points on a pull up jumper by Turk with 4:46 left to play.

Stingy defense and solid work from the free throw line took it from there. Though the Redbirds rallied to cut Drake's lead to five with 48 seconds remaining, Drake rebuilt its lead from the line behind six Turk free throws.

"Our defense has progressively gotten better this month," Stephens added. "We got stronger in the second half."

Junior Rachael Hackbarth (Colgate, Wis.) turned in one of her best efforts as a Bulldog, scoring 16 points and pulling down 17 rebounds; one shy of her career high. Sophomore Stephanie Running (Oak Creek, Wis.) finished a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor to tie her career high with eight points. Junior Amber Wollschlager (Milbank, S.D.) and sophomore Kayla Person (St. Louis, Mo.) added seven points each.

The Bulldogs improved dramatically from the floor in the second half, shooting 51.7 percent from the floor compared to 36.7 percent in the opening half.