DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake women's basketball team led for 40 minutes, as it beat Missouri State, 75-64, in the annual Hoops for Hope game Saturday at the Knapp Center.

Drake (8-16, 3-10 MVC) was led by freshman Ashley Bartow's (Sun Prairie, Wis.) career-high 19 points, her fourth consecutive game scoring in double figures. Sophomore Kyndal Clark (Webb City, Mo.) also had 19 points along with seven rebounds. Redshirt sophomore Carly Grenfell (York, Neb.) tallied 10 points.

"I'm so proud of our team," Drake head coach Jennie Baranczyk said. "We needed this win and they stepped up. Ashley is playing tremendous for us right now and besides some foul trouble tonight she didn't look like a freshman out there. Kyndal tonight was a leader doing a little bit of everything besides the 19 points and after she missed her first free throw she made her next six."

Missouri State (12-13, 4-9 MVC), charged back from a 10-point halftime deficit, in the second half  taking advantage of poor shooting by the Bulldogs, to play with a manageable two-possession deficit for the majority of the half. The Lady Bears dominated the boards in the second half, 33-16, but could not get closer than two points away from the Bulldogs. Missouri State had difficulties from the free throw line all game, shooting just 30.8 percent.

Drake held the edge from the field, shooting a 42.9 percent clip from the field, compared to 36.0 percent from the Lady Bears. Missouri State scored 21 second chance points, compared to Drake's five. The win snapped a four-game losing streak.

Drake came out of the gates on fire, making four of its first six baskets, including a pair of threes from Grenfell and Liza Heap (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), to take an early 10-0 lead, forcing an early Missouri State timeout just 2:14 into the game. The Lady Bears would not convert a field goal for the first 7:20 of the game.

The Bulldogs finished the half at 42.4 percent and held a 38-28 lead at halftime. Clark led all scorers at the break with 13 points, and Heap added seven in the first half. Clark's 38 minutes played equaled her career-high.

Kenzie Williams and Christiana Shorter both scored in double figures for Missouri State, scoring 17 and 12 respectively. The Bulldogs shut down the Lady Bears' leading scorer, surrendering just four points to Whitney Edie. Edie came into the game averaging 15 points per game, which ranked second in the Valley.

The Bulldogs start a three-game road trip next Thursday night at Bradley at 6 p.m. Listen to 1350 KRNT and follow live stats at www.godrakebulldogs.com.