VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Drake University women's basketball team closes the regular season at Valparaiso Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. The contest with the newest member of the Missouri Valley Conference is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the ARC and will be broadcast on
The Valley on ESPN3.
Drake (22-7, 17-0 MVC) cruised past Loyola, 97-53, Thursday night at the Gentile Center after it erased a three-point second quarter deficit and went on an impressive 49-7 scoring run from the start of the second quarter to the first media timeout in the third period. The Bulldogs had five score in double figures led by
Becca Hittner (Urbandale, Iowa) who poured in a game-high 25 points, including 23 after the first quarter. The 25 points for Hittner are the most for the sophomore in a Valley game. Joining Hittner in double-digits was
Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) with 17 points,
Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) had 15 points,
Nicole Miller (Walker, Iowa) added 11 points and
Sammie Bachrodt (Wichita, Kan.) scored 10 points. Dean, Miller and Rhine helped the Bulldogs' bench outscore the Ramblers', 45-10.
Paige Greiner (Williamsburg, Iowa) made her second career start and finished with nine points. Greiner knocked down three three-pointers. The Bulldogs made 16 three-pointers as a team as four players made at least two and Dean tied her career-high with five. Drake made 37 field goals and tallied 31 assists as every player recorded at least one assist. Bachrodt handed out six while Greiner and Hittner each dished out five. As a team, Drake nabbed a season-high 18 steals.
Drake, which is already the only Valley team to go undefeated in regular season play after last year's 18-0 run, is one win away from doing it for the second-straight season. The Bulldogs own the longest Gateway/MVC era regular season winning streak as Friday's win in the Windy City is the 39th-straight MVC regular season win.
Valparaiso (12-16, 5-12 MVC) lost to UNI Friday night as the Crusaders fell behind 24-9 after one quarter and couldn't recover in a 76-53 defeat. Drake and Valpo each started MVC play against each on Dec. 29, 2017 at the Knapp Center. Valparaiso joined the MVC in July, 2017 from the Horizon League. Saturday's game is the fourth all-time meeting between the two schools as Drake holds a 3-0 advantage. The Crusaders are led in scoring by Cedar Rapids native and senior Dani Franklin, who averages 15.6 points per game.
Following Saturday's game, the Bulldogs are the No. 1 seed for the MVC Tournament, March 8-11, at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Ill. where they will start defense of their 2017 MVC Tournament title on March 9 at 12 p.m. versus the winner of the No. 8 and No. 9 play in game the night before.
