DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team defeated Bradley, 95-63, to secure the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship Saturday afternoon at the Knapp Center on senior day. The win gives Drake its MVC third-consecutive regular season title for the first time in school history.
 
The Bulldogs are the No. 1 seed at next week's MVC Tournament where they will play Friday against the winner of No. 8 Indiana State vs. No. 9 Valparaiso game Thursday. Tipoff will be at noon and broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Drake (25-5, 17-1 MVC) was led by junior Becca Hittner (Urbandale, Iowa) who had 21 points and four rebounds. Sara Rhine (Eldon, Mo.) finished just short of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Brenni Rose (Shawnee, Kan.) added nine points, a team-high six assists and five rebounds
 
The Bulldogs' four seniors played a major role in the win, producing on both ends of the court. Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) scored 12 points and added five rebounds. Sammie Bachrodt (Wichita, Kan.) finished with a team-high three steals in addition to seven points and one block. Bachrodt with 271 is currently three steals away from moving into first in the Bulldogs' career steals leaderboard. The career record is held by Kay Riek, who had 274, and has held the record since 1984.
 
Nicole Miller (Walker, Iowa) added three steals to go along with nine points and five rebounds. Becca Jonas (Independence, Mo.) finished with four points on 2-of-3 shooting, four rebounds, and one block.
 
Bradley (20-9, 10-8 MVC) was led by Shunseere Kent who scored a game-high 25 points and added two steals and three rebounds.
 
The Braves applied early pressure to try and disrupt the Bulldogs' offense, but Drake was able to break the press and score in transition. Bachrodt kicked off the scoring with a layup, and the rest of the seniors took over the first half. At the end of the first quarter, Drake held a 13-point lead thanks to hot shooting from three-point range.
 
Jonas got in the scoring column with a jumper in the lane early in the second quarter, giving all four seniors points with almost three quarters to play. The Bulldogs put together a 10-0 run before Bradley made a three just before the buzzer to make it 45-23 at halftime.
 
In the first two quarters, Drake's seniors scored a combined 21 points including eight from Miller. The biggest difference in the half was three-point shooting. Both teams attempted 12 threes, but Drake, which made six, held the Braves to just the one late make from beyond the arc.
 
Drake held onto a comfortable lead early in the second half, but Bradley started to heat up from deep. After going 1-of-12 in the first half, the Braves made 2-of-3 to begin the third quarter. Dean scored each of the Bulldogs' last three field goals in the quarter to give Drake a 72-40 lead going into the final quarter.
 
With the fourth quarter winding down, the seniors were subbed out one-by-one to a standing ovation from the Knapp Center crowd. The four seniors combined for 32 points, 15 rebounds, and six steals in their final game at the Knapp.
 
Maggie Negaard (Stevens Point, Wis.) scored a career-high seven points on 3-of-3 shooting in four minutes. Monica Burich (Roseville, Minn.) had eight points and six boards off the bench.