DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team returns to the Knapp Center to host Loyola on Friday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. with the Missouri Valley Conference game being broadcast on The Valley on ESPN3 and on radio via ESPN Des Moines 1350-AM.
 
Drake (13-4, 6-0 MVC) collected a pair of dominant road wins over Bradley and Illinois State last weekend. In the two wins, the Bulldogs scored 180 points, made 70-of-134 (52.2 percent) field goals, including 24-of-43 three-pointers (55.8 percent), handed out 58 assists and nabbed 30 steals. All 10 available players played significant minutes and scored in each win.
 
Senior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) was once again the catalyst for Drake, leading the team in scoring both games along with posting solid numbers across the board. Wendell's outstanding weekend earned her MVC Player of the Week honors for the second-straight week on Monday. She has won the weekly award 12 times in her career and now ranks second all-time in MVC history behind legend Jackie Stiles of Missouri State (18).
 
As a team, the Bulldogs rank second in the nation in assists per game (22.2), third in assists (377), fourth in field goal percentage (49.7) and ninth in offensive scoring (83.2). Senior point guard Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) is second in assists per game at 8.2 while Wendell is 10^th in scoring at 22.1 points.
 
Loyola (2-14, 1-4 MVC) is led by first-year head coach Kate Achter. Achter was previously assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Xavier for one season, and prior to arriving at Xavier was on the coaching staff at St. Bonaventure for five seasons. She was an All-American point guard for Bowling Green. Senior Katie Salmon, who is one of three returning players for the Ramblers, leads the team in scoring at 9.6 points. Seven newcomers fill out their roster. Drake (8) and Loyola (18) played the toughest non-conference schedules in the league.
 
Following Friday's game, Drake concludes its homestand on Sunday when it welcomes Indiana State for a 2 p.m. matinee. The game will broadcast on ESPN3 and on radio via ESPN Des Moines 1350-AM.