DES MOINES, Iowa – A hot-shooting third quarter paired with tough defense propelled the Drake University women's basketball team to a 96-77 victory over Indiana State Sunday afternoon in Missouri Valley Conference action at the Knapp Center.
 
Drake (21-5, 13-1 MVC), which led by five points at the halftime break, scored 28 points on 10-of-15 with three three-pointers, and held Indiana State (11-15, 5-10 MVC) to just eight points in the third quarter.
 
Four Bulldogs scored in double-figure, led by Becca Hittner (Urbandale, Iowa), who poured in a game-high 33 points. It is Hittner's league-leading fourth 30-plus scoring performance this season and she filled the stat sheet with six rebounds, three assists and two steals in 28 minutes.
 
Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) posted her team-leading 11^th double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Rhine, the MVC's top shooter, was nearly perfect Sunday at 7-of-8 from the floor and also 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) and Sammie Bachrodt (Wichita, Kan.) were the others in double digits with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Dean and Hittner each made 3-of-5 three-pointers. Dean moved into sole possession of fifth place all-time at Drake with 225.
 
Tamara Lee scored a team-high 19 points behind five three-pointers for the Sycamores, which made a season-high 11 from behind the arc. Drake's defense tightened on Indiana State after halftime as the Sycamores made just 4-of-16 three-pointers and Lee scored just three points.
 
It was a back-and-forth, high-scoring contest in the first two quarters as the teams combined for 12 lead changes and three ties. The Sycamores led for the final time with 4:59 left in the second quarter after Lee's layup put them up by one-point. However, the Bulldogs closed the period on a 13-7 to hold a 48-43 halftime advantage.
 
Out of halftime, Indiana State score first with one free throw at the 9:15 mark. Drake then ripped off 10-straight points before the Sycamores made their first field goal of the quarter. The Bulldogs more than doubled their lead after that three-pointer as they led by 25 points after three quarters. Hittner and Rhine each scored seven points while Dean chipped in five in the decisive quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, Indiana State trimmed its deficit to 12 with just under five minutes left, but the Bulldogs would later lead by 21 after Rhine's three-point play with :49 seconds to go.
 
Drake controlled the paint with a 54-24 advantage. Both teams struggled with turnovers with a combined 42 (Drake-23, Indiana State-19). The Bulldogs scored 21 points off the Sycamores' turnovers compared to just 13 points for the visiting team.
 
Drake visits SIU Friday, March 1 in its second-to-last regular season road game. Tipoff in Carbondale is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.