DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake University women's basketball team bounced back with a 94-66 win over Southern Illinois Sunday afternoon at the Knapp Center in front of 3,683 fans. The 94 points are the second-highest total for the Bulldogs this season.
Becca Hittner (Urbandale, Iowa) led all scorers with 30 points in just 26 minutes, her second straight 30-plus points performance. Hittner's three 30-plus games this season are the most for a Drake (16-5, 8-1 MVC) player since Lizzy Wendell recorded four in the 2016-17 season.
Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes for her ninth double-double of the season. Her total of 20 career double-doubles is the most among active MVC players. 15 of Rhine's 25 points came from the charity stripe, which is the most by a Bulldog since the 2007-08 season.
Joining Hittner and Rhine in double-figures was
Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) with 16 points and
Sammie Bachrodt (Wichita, Kan.) with 11 points. Hittner, who made 10-of-15 shots and 8-of-9 from the free throw line, pulled down seven rebounds while Bachrodt filled the stat sheet with six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Dean added three rebounds, three assists and one steal. All 12 Bulldogs played in the game and no one played more than 29 minutes (
Maddie Monahan, (Silver Lake, Minn.))
Payton McCallister was SIU's (10-10, 3-6 MVC) lone double-digit scorer with 12 points, but scored just three after halftime. Abby Brockmeyer and Nicole Martin each finished with nine points before they each fouled out late in the contest.
At the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs led 22-16 with nine points from Hittner. Hittner continued her impressive scoring run, totaling 22 points between that and the fourth quarter of Friday's game versus Missouri State when she scored a career-high 37 points.
Drake started the second quarter on a 9-0 run to stretch its lead to as much as 15 before an SIU three-pointer stopped the run. Hittner continued to take over the game, reaching 20 points with just under five minutes remaining before halftime.
The Salukis went on an 8-1 run to cut the Drake lead to 11 before the Bulldogs were forced to call a timeout and regroup. The Bulldogs went into the halftime break with a nine-point lead.
Hittner led all scorers at the half with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including seven of her last eight attempts of the period.
The Bulldogs got off to a quick start in the third quarter but cooled down, keeping SIU within striking distance. At the media timeout, Drake led 56-44 as both teams got into the bonus for much of the quarter. Drake was able to stretch its lead by making 13-of-14 from the free throw line, compared to the Salukis' who made 1-of-8. The Bulldogs held the Salukis to nine points in the third.
The Bulldogs added to their lead in the fourth quarter, hitting 10-of-12 from the floor, and both three-point attempts as they led by as many as 31 points.
The Bulldogs finished with 27 free throws, a season-best. Their 61.2 percent shooting percentage is the second highest this season.
The Bulldogs hit the road Friday, Feb. 8 when they head to Indiana to take on the Valparaiso Crusaders at 5 p.m. The start time was originally 7 p.m. before it was moved up two hours. The game will be on ESPN+.
