ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Drake University women's basketball team used a 7-0 scoring run in the middle of the second half to take a lead that it wouldn't give back, defeating Missouri State, 81-66, in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Thursday at Family Arena.

Led by the second half efforts of sophomore guard Kyndal Clark (Webb City, Mo.), who finished with a team-high 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half, Drake (11-19) took control of the game down the stretch to pull away for the win.

Freshman Ashley Bartow (Sun Prairie, Wis.) had 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while junior Morgan Reid (Kansas City, Mo.) tallied 15.

Junior Mary Pat Specht (Shawnee, Kan.) added 12 points including two important three-pointers and freshman Emma Donahue (Naperville, Ill.) scored a career-high eight points off the bench.

"Something we told her before she went in to the game: If you have an open shot you take it...Do not miss taking an open shot tonight," Drake head coach Jennie Baranczyk said about Specht. "That's exactly what we need her to do."

The Bulldogs went on a 7-0 scoring run that lasted over two minutes to take a 61-60 lead at the official timeout with 7:48 remaining in the game. Donahue had a pair of jumpers fall and Specht knocked down a three-pointer to give the Drake offense a needed boost.

"My shot was feeling really good tonight," Specht said. "I just credit my teammates for finding me. They found me in transition, and Alyssa (Marschner) gave me two big assists."

The scoring stretch proved to be key for Drake, as it took its largest lead of the game at that point, 70-64, going into the final official timeout of the game. Missouri State (14-17) continued to struggle to find offense after the timeout and Clark hit a key three-pointer with 1:58 remaining on the clock to stretch the Drake lead to nine points and force the Lady Bears to foul as a last attempt to extend the game.

Drake came out of the second half hot, cutting Missouri State's lead to a single point, 50-49, at the first official timeout of the half. After being held to two points in the first half, Clark had eight quick points, to bring the Bulldogs back into the game.

Despite shooting struggles early in the game, Drake shot at a 51.6 percent clip in the second half to finish shooting 41.7 percent from the floor. The Bulldogs also were able to get three-pointers to fall in the second half, using seven threes to overtake the Lady Bears.

The first half was tightly contested; featuring nine ties and seven lead changes. The Bulldogs were held scoreless for over three minutes towards the end of the half as the Lady Bears closed the half on a 9-4 run to take a 39-34 lead at halftime. All of Drake's offense went through Bartow and Reid, finishing the half with 11 and eight points, respectively.

Missouri State had three players finish in double-figures with Bry Snow leading the Lady Bears with 12 points. Karly Buer and Whitney Edie added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Missouri State held a 46-44 rebounding advantage and had 44 points in the paint. Donahue and Specht helped Drake's bench outscore Missouri State's, 24-17.  Clark added six rebounds, four steals and two assists.

"My shot has been on recently," Donahue said. "It was great to see that my team was finding me. I'm just starting to figure out where I fit in this offense. It's exciting to start understanding where I should be."

Drake advances to play the No. 1 seed in this year's tournament, Wichita State, in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 12:07 p.m. The game will be broadcast online on Valley-Live.tv.