DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team hosts Indiana State in Missouri Valley Conference action Friday night at the Knapp Center. Tipoff with the Sycamores is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on The Valley on ESPN3.
 
Drake (9-7, 4-0 MVC) has won its first four MVC games, including pair of road wins at Missouri State and Southern Illinois this past weekend. With its Jan. 5 victory at Missouri State, Drake won its 25th consecutive regular season Valley game to set a league record. The Bulldogs had been tied with Missouri State, which won 24 straight MVC games from 1999-2000. Drake's impressive streak started on Feb. 26, 2016, and included last season's 18-0 mark in MVC play.
 
Sophomore Becca Hittner (Urbandale, Iowa) paced the Bulldogs in the wins and was recognized for her performance by being named MVC Player of the Week on Jan. 8 for the first time. Hittner averaged 19.5 point, 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 60 percent from the floor and 91.6 percent from the free throw line. She added her third career MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week award on Jan. 10. Hittner is averaging a team-high 15.4 points per game, the second-best scoring total in the MVC along with pulling down 4.8 rebounds per game and shooting 47.4 percent from the floor.
 
Over the past four seasons, Drake has ranked in the top 10 every season in the NCAA in team assists per game. Currently, the Bulldogs rank fourth in the nation in assists at 22.0. In its nine victories this year, Drake has recorded 21 or more assists in each win, including 21 and 23, respectively, at MSU and SIU. Junior Sammie Bachrodt (Wichita, Kan.) handed out a career-high seven assists in the victory over Missouri State while Hittner handed out her career-high of seven assists in the SIU win. In Drake's first MVC win over Valparaiso, redshirt junior Maddy Dean distributed a career-high 12 assists.



Indiana State (3-11, 1-2 MVC) snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 56-48 home win over Evansville. The victory was the first for interim head coach Josh Keister, who took over the program on Jan. 2 after Joey Wells resigned. Senior Wendi Bibbins, the reigning MVC Newcomer of the Year, is averaging a team-high 11.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

Drake leads the all-time series at 53-23, including a 31-6 record in games played in Des Moines.

Following Friday's game, Drake welcomes Evansville Sunday for a 2 p.m. matinee at the Knapp Center.