DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team hosts Clarke Tuesday morning in the program's annual Pack the Knapp for Character Game hosted by Drake's the Ray Center. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. as thousands of area elementary and middle school students will pack the Knapp Center for a fun day of basketball and educational activities.
No. 21/24 Drake (7-1) and Clarke (7-2) will play each other in the annual morning game that is in its sixth season. The Bulldogs and Pride have previously played three times with the last game coming in the 2016 Pack the Knapp game. Drake owns a 3-0 record in the series versus Clarke.
Drake defeated a familiar foe in its lone action last week. The Bulldogs used a big fourth quarter to pull away from their former Missouri Valley Conference rival, Creighton, for an 85-69 road victory that snapped a two-game losing streak to the Bluejays. The win is the 40th all-time for the Bulldogs in the series that started in 1977, featured multiple games for many seasons when the teams were conference mates and has continued every year since Creighton left the MVC for the BIG EAST in 2013, including last season's four-overtime back-and-forth game at the Knapp Center.
Junior
Becca Hittner reached a career milestone in Drake's win over Creighton. Hittner, who scored a game-high 23 points, is the 32nd player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points and accomplished the feat on her first three-pointer of the game. She equaled her season-high and four away from her career-best behind a great shooting day, going 5-of-9 from the floor, 3-of-3 from behind the 3-point line and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Hittner added four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 28 minutes in the victory over the Bluejays. She has scored 12 or more points in six out of the team's eight games this season. Hittner is one of five current MVC players who have scored 1,000 or more points in a career. Two of her teammates,
Maddy Dean and
Sara Rhine, surpassed the mark last season and two more of her teammates are working towards the impressive accomplishment as well.
Sammie Bachrodt and
Becca Jonas have 945 and 879, points respectively, as they work to join the group.
Clarke, which is a NAIA member and plays in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, won at No. 22 Benedictine 67-60 in its last game Saturday. The Pride are led by sophomore Makenna Haase who averages a double-double at 16.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game.
Following Tuesday's game, Drake visits South Dakota State Saturday at 2 p.m. The Jackrabbits, who are the preseason favorite in the Summit League, edged the Bulldogs 85-78 last season at the Knapp Center. Saturday's game in Brookings, S.D. will be the third all-time contest in the series that sits at 1-1.
