DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team defeated Loyola, 72-46, Sunday afternoon in the Knapp Center to close out its first weekend of Missouri Valley Conference play.
 
Drake (7-7, 2-0 MVC) was led by sophomore Becca Hittner (Urbandale, Iowa) who had a game-high 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Hittner also recorded three rebounds and three assists and had a 4-of-7 shooting performance. Redshirt sophomore Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) added 10 points and six rebounds while an additional three Bulldogs each recorded more than 8 points. As a team, Drake dished out 23 assists on a 29-of-54 (53.7 percent) shooting performance. Six Bulldogs tallied three or more assists.
 
Junior Nicole Miller (Walker, Iowa) had nine points while redshirt junior Becca Jonas (Independence, Mo.) and sophomore Brenni Rose (Shawnee, Kan.) both scored eight. Jonas added a game-high seven rebounds.
 
Loyola (2-11, 0-2 MVC) was led by Kailyn Strawbridge with nine points and five assists. The Bulldogs held Loyola's leading scorer, Abby O'Connor, to just six points. Ellie Rice added six rebounds for the Ramblers.
 
After leading 29-23 at half, Drake used a 10-0 run in the third quarter to help outscore the Ramblers 24-7 in the period behind a 9-of-15 shooting performance that included eight points from Hittner.
 
The Bulldogs opened the third quarter with a pair of layups by Hittner before freshman Maddie Monahan (Silver Lake, Minn.) forced a Loyola turnover allowing Rose a layup before being fouled. Jonas recorded the rebound off the missed free throw, adding two points and giving Drake its largest lead at the time, 37-26. Hittner added four more points off a layup and pair of free throws, extending the Bulldogs run. A pair of three-pointers by Greiner ended the quarter for the Bulldogs with a 53-30 lead.
 
Drake heads to the road for its first road MVC matchup against Missouri State Jan. 5. Tipoff with the Bears is set for 7 p.m. and the action will be broadcast on The Valley on ESPN3.