SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Drake University women's basketball team dropped a 78-46 decision at Missouri State Saturday, ending a three-game Missouri Valley Conference-opening road swing with a 1-2 mark. The loss put Drake's overall record at 7-7.

"This road trip has been a tough experience for us," said head coach Amy Stephens. "We had a pair of rough games and we'll be glad to get back to the Knapp Center."

Senior Rachael Hackbarth (Colgate, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) led Drake with 16 points but shot just 5-of-17 from the floor. As a team, the Bulldogs made 12-of-55 shots to shoot just 21.8-percent from the floor - a season-low.

The Bulldogs opened the game with a 24-6 deficit over the first 10 minutes of the first half and never recovered. Missouri State scored 37 first-half points and tallied 41 in the second half for a total of 78 - the most Drake has given up this season.

"We got ourselves in a hole," Stephens said. "Missouri State came out and threw some punches and it took us too long to respond."

Redshirt junior Brittnye McSparron (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) scored 14 points and hit 2-of-3 three-point attempts. Junior Stephanie Running (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) scored eight points and was a game-high 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Preseason MVC Player of the Year Casey Garrison scored 16 points while Jaleshia Roberson tallied a game-high 21 for the Lady Bears.

Drake won the rebounding battle, 39-37, but committed 20 turnovers compared to just 13 for Missouri State. The Lady Bears dominated down low, outscoring Drake 32-10 in the paint - the largest margin of any Drake opponent.

"We'll correct some things when we get home and we'll work on getting better this week," Stephens said. "We have a chance to do some good things if we just stay focused and show up every day."

Drake hosts Southern Illinois Thursday at 7 p.m.