DES MOINES, Iowa – It will be a matchup of the top two Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball teams on Super Bowl Sunday in the Knapp Center when Drake (15-7, 10-0 MVC) hosts Missouri State (12-9, 8-2 MVC). Tipoff with the Lady Bears is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be the MVC's game of the week on ESPN3.
 
Drake earned a thrilling 84-73 comeback victory over Southern Illinois Friday night. The Bulldogs erased a 14-point, third-quarter deficit, scoring 54 points after halftime. In the game, Drake shot a blistering 62.0 percent from the floor, including an impressive 21-of-27 (77.8 percent) in the final two quarters.
 
Five players scored in double-figures for Drake, led by redshirt junior Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.), who poured in a season-high 20 points off the bench. Dean pulled down a season-best 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and the eighth of her career. She added three assists and two steals.
 
Redshirt sophomore Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) added 18 points off the bench going a perfect 8-of-8 from the field. Sophomores Becca Hittner (Urbandale, Iowa) and Brenni Rose (Shawnee, Kan.) each scored 14 points. 10 of Rose's points and 11 of Hittner's points came after halftime. Rose added four rebounds and four assists. Junior Sammie Bachrodt (Wichita, Kan.) chipped in 10 points.
 
The turning point of the comeback for Drake, which trailed at halftime by a score of 37-30, occurred with the team down, 46-32, at the 7:20 mark of the third quarter. However, the Bulldogs answered as they pulled to within one point at 55-54 after a three by Hittner at the 1:02 mark. SIU countered with a bucket before the end of the period as the score was 57-54 going into the final quarter. The halftime deficit for Drake was the first since the non-conference finale versus Iowa on Dec. 21, 2017.

Later, Drake took its first lead of the game since it was 3-1 in the opening quarter with Rhine's layup to make the score 65-64 with 6:53 to play. The Bulldogs kept the momentum with a 12-0 run, which included another layup by Rhine and back-to-back three-pointers by Rose. SIU called a timeout to try and slow Drake down, but it didn't work as the Bulldogs followed every Saluki basket with one of their own as they earned the comeback win.
 
Drake's bench was a big factor in the win as it scored 42 points compared to Southern Illinois' two points from its reserves. In nine out of 10 league games this season, the Bulldogs' bench has tallied 30 or more points and no MVC team's bench has outscored Drake's bench this season.
 
Missouri State sits alone in second place after the Lady Bears edged UNI, 57-52, Friday night in the McLeod Center and with the SIU loss. Missouri State, which fell behind by nine points to the Panthers in the first quarter, used season-high 12 steals and forced 20 turnovers to turn the game around and claim the road victory. Three Lady Bears scored in double figures. Earlier this season, Drake won 80-68 at Missouri State. The road win broke a 41-41 tie in the all-time series between the two longtime MVC rivals.

Following Sunday's game, Drake visits Evansville on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. and Indiana State on Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. The Evansville contest will take place in the Purple Aces' new on campus home arena, Lois D. Patton Court inside the Meeks Family Fieldhouse. Both games in Indiana will be broadcast on The Valley on ESPN3.