DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake women's basketball team knocked off Southern Illinois, 75-59, Sunday, Jan. 8 night in Missouri Valley Conference play at the Knapp Center.  
 
Drake (11-4, 4-0 MVC) shot 30-of-59 from the floor, including 9-of-14 in the third quarter. The Bulldogs held just a three-point lead of 38-35 at halftime, but limited Southern Illinois (7-8, 1-3 MVC) to just seven points in the quarter to seize control of the game and help win their fifth-straight game.   
 
Senior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting and added three assists and two steals. It's Wendell's fourth-straight game and the 57^th in her career, scoring more than 20 points in a game.
 
Redshirt sophomore Becca Jonas (Independence, Mo.) added 13 points followed by freshman Brenni Rose (Shawnee, Kan.) with 11. Rose nabbed five rebounds and fellow freshman Becca Hittner (Des Moines, Iowa) pulled down a team-high six.
 
Hittner and sophomore Sammie Bachrodt (Wichita, Kan.) each had seven points while senior Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) just missed double digits with eight points. Ingle also recorded a game-high six assists and a career-high six steals. 
 
Southern Illinois was led by Carlie Corrigan with 14 points followed by Rishonda Napier and Kylie Giebelhausen who each had 12. Nicole Martin had a game-high eight rebounds. The Salukis shot 9-of-17 from beyond the arc in the first half, led by Corrigan's four. Drake held Southern Illinois to only one three-pointer in the third and fourth quarters. The Bulldogs held their largest lead of 22 points early in the fourth quarter.
 
The Bulldogs dominated the paint with a 40-10 scoring advantage and forced 21 SIU turnovers that led to 19 points.
 
Drake returns to the road on Jan. 13 at Bradley with a 7 p.m. tipoff in Peoria, Ill. The contest will be broadcast on The Valley on ESPN3 and on the radio on ESPN Des Moines 1350-AM.