BROOKINGS, S.D. - The Drake University women's basketball team couldn't dig itself out of an early hole against South Dakota State falling 87-73 on Tuesday night at Frost Arena.
 
The Jackrabbits (4-2) opened the game on a 10-0 run and then reeled off another 10-0 spurt as their lead expanded to 24-8 late in the opening period.
 
Grace Berg responded with a personal 10-0 burst to close Drake's gap to 27-21. Berg scored 18 of her game-high 23 points in the first 13 minutes of play. The two-time Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week added nine rebounds and four assists for Drake (2-3). She entered Tuesday second in the conference with a scoring average of 18.0 points per game.
 
The teams traded blows as SDSU took a 42-35 lead into halftime, and both sides emerged from the locker room on fire offensively in the third quarter.
 
Drake and SDSU combined to score 25 points in the opening 3:45 of the third quarter, and at one point combined to make 13 shots in a row. Maddie Monahan burrowed her way for a layup to beat the buzzer and cut Drake's deficit to nine heading into the final frame. Monahan, who entered the night ranked fourth in the MVC at 16.0 points per game, tallied 20 points to extend her double-figure scoring streak to nine games.
 
The Bulldogs locked in defensively to hold the Jackrabbits scoreless for the first 3:25 of the fourth quarter, but Drake could only chip four points off the lead in that span.
 
Maggie Bair, who set a career-best with 11 rebounds, notched the first double-double of her career when she made a layup with 8:04 to play to bring Drake within five for the first time since early in the second quarter. She finished with a season-best 10 points.
 
The Jackrabbits had an answer, however, pouring in seven-straight points to nurse the lead back to double-digits. Monahan scored six points in a row as Drake clawed back to within six with 2:12 remaining, but the Bulldogs couldn't get over the hump and SDSU salted the game away at the free-throw line.
 
Myah Selland paced SDSU with team-highs in points (21) and rebounds (11), and Tori Nelson contributed 18 points. Haley Greer and Lindsey Theuninck each added a game-best five assists, and five Jackrabbits reached double-figure scoring.
 
Drake recorded a season-best 11 steals, led by Berg with three.
 
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday when they host Lewis University, a Division II program from Romeoville, Ill. Tipoff at the Knapp Center is slated for 4 p.m.