CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team travels to UNI for the second round of the WNIT on Saturday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the McLeod Center and the game will broadcast on the radio on 1350 ESPN Des Moines with Ric Silvestrini and Laura Leonard on the call.
 
Drake (23-9) blasted Sacred Heart, 95-39, on Thursday night in the postseason tournament's opening round. The Bulldogs opened the game against the Pioneers with a 12-0 scoring run that lasted 4:30 minutes as they never trailed in their first WNIT win since 2008. Drake is now 14-12 all-time in WNIT games.
 
Junior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) was the leading scorer for Drake with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting while freshman Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) scored 15 points and sophomore Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) had 14 points. Senior Emma Donahue (Naperville, Ill.) and freshman Nicole Miller (Walker, Iowa) were the other Bulldogs to reach double-figure points with 12 and 11, respectively.
 
Drake made 36-of-63 shots from the floor, including making 12-of-28 from behind the three-point line, while dishing out 29 assists. Drake led by as many 38 points late in the contest in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. The Bulldogs forced 21 turnovers by the Pioneers and scored 35 points off the miscues. Drake's bench scored 38 points.
 
UNI (23-10) rallied to win at Nebraska, 64-62, on Thursday as the Panthers came back from an eight-point, third-quarter deficit. The comeback win by UNI sets up a third game between the in-state, MVC rivals as Drake looks for its first win over UNI this season. The teams have never met in the WNIT and its Drake's first-ever WNIT game against an MVC team.
 
The winner of Drake vs. UNI will play the winner of Minnesota vs. South Dakota, who play Sunday afternoon at Minnesota.