DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team beat CSUN, 73-63, Sunday afternoon at the Knapp Center. It was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
 
Redshirt junior forward Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) led Drake (4-0) with 24 points and eight rebounds, finishing just shy of a fourth consecutive double-double. Redshirt senior guard Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) joined Rhine in double-digit points with 17 in an efficient game. Dean was 5-of-7 from the floor, including an incredible 4-of-5 from three-point range.
 
CSUN (1-3), which was picked to win the Big West Conference by the league's coaches in the preseason poll, was led by senior forward Channon Fluker, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds for her 58th career double-double. Fluker is the NCAA's active leader in double-doubles, as well as the active leader for career rebounds at 1,125.
 
CSUN opened the game on a 7-0 run, but the Bulldogs got going from three-point range to give themselves a 13-10 lead going into the first media timeout. Senior Nicole Miller (Walker, Iowa) knocked down two three-pointers and Rhine made one in answering with a 13-3 scoring run. Drake held a 25-15 lead after one quarter of play.
 
Drake held CSUN without a field goal for the final 5:30 of the second quarter, but were only able to score five points of their own as the Matadors outscored the Bulldogs, 14-11, in the period.
 
At the halftime break, Drake led, 36-29, as Rhine led the way with 11 points and six rebounds. Despite shooting 5-of-14 in the second quarter, their strong first quarter gave them a cushion going into the third quarter.
 
In the third quarter, the Bulldogs got back on track shooting the ball, making seven of their first 10 shots in the quarter. They were also able to draw fouls going 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. Drake led by as many as 17 points, and held a 60-45 advantage going into the final quarter of play.
 
With under five minutes remaining in the game, CSUN called a timeout to try and regroup. Out of the timeout they chipped away at their deficit with five straight points to bring the Drake lead down to just five with 3:48 left.
 
Both teams traded baskets until just under one minute remained when the Bulldogs pulled away with five consecutive points and the double-digit win.
 
Following Sunday's game, Drake makes just its second-ever trip to Canada and first since the 1975-76 season for the inaugural Vancouver Showcase in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Bulldogs start the three-day tournament against Rutgers on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22) at 4:30 p.m. CST. The Bulldogs will play two more games, Nov. 23 and 24, in Vancouver.