CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Drake University women's basketball team closes the regular season at Southern Illinois on Saturday with tipoff against the Salukis scheduled for 2 p.m. The game will be available online via The Valley On ESPN3.

Drake, who recorded its 20^th overall win of the season with a 20-point victory over Evansville on Thursday, holds a 13-4 record in Missouri Valley Conference action. The Bulldogs have now earned back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.

Drake and Missouri State (20-9, 13-4 MVC) are tied for second place in the MVC while SIU is fourth at 19-10 overall and 12-5 in MVC play. UNI (19-9, 14-3 MVC) has clinched at least a share of the league title. Drake needs to defeat SIU and have Evansville beat UNI on Saturday for the Bulldogs to earn a share of the regular season title with the Panthers. Missouri State hosts Illinois State on Saturday as the final day of the regular season will determine not only the title winner but seeding for next week's MVC Tournament held March 10-13 at the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill. The Bulldogs along with the Bears, Panthers and Salukis have each clinched a top four seed and will all play on the second day of the tournament.

The Bulldogs were led by the MVC Preseason Player of the Year junior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) in their win over Evansville. Wendell poured in a game-high 22 points while junior Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) equaled her career mark with 15 assists. Ingle has now handed out 15 assists in a game three times in her career, a mark that ranks tied for the third most in a single game in school history. Freshman Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) scored 19 points, including nine points in the final four minutes against the Purple Aces and sophomore Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) just missed a double-double with 16 points and eight rebounds. Drake finished with 29 assists on 35 field goals. The Bulldogs' bench scored 33 points while the team had 56 points in the paint.

SIU lost to UNI on Thursday by a score of 73-64 as the Salukis had three score double figures, led by senior Dyana Pierre with 16 points. SIU edged Drake, 77-67, in the league opener for both teams on Jan.1 in Des Moines.

The 2015-16 MVC Tournament is scheduled for March 10-13 at the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill. The postseason tournament is being played in Moline for the first time after being contested in St. Charles, Mo., for several years.