DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team defeated Southern Illinois, 91-76, on Friday, Feb. 7 night at the Knapp Center to claim its seventh win in its last eight outings.
 
The Bulldogs (16-6, 8-2 MVC) broke an early 11-11 tie by running off 13-straight points to take control of the game. The Salukis (13-8, 5-5 MVC) would never get closer than seven points from that point on.
 
Becca Hittner highlighted the stretch with a personal 8-0 run, punctuated by a pair of 3-pointers. Hittner finished with seven made 3-pointers, tied for the third-most in a game in Drake history, including a half-court heave to close the first half. She also vaulted from fifth to third all-time for 3-pointers made in a career with 239. Hittner's former teammate, Lizzy Wendell, was the last Bulldog to make seven 3-pointers when she did it against Iowa Dec. 21, 2014.
Hittner connected on 7-of-8 3-point attempts and 8-of-8 free-throw tries and finished with a game-high 31 points. It is her third 30-plus scoring performance this season and seventh in her career. She filled the stat sheet with nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks.



"Becca was obviously hitting shots tonight," said Drake head coach Jennie Baranczyk. "But the impressive thing was she didn't need 30 shots to get 31 points. That's a credit to how familiar she is with this system and also how balanced we are."
 
Behind Hittner's scoring prowess, the Bulldogs cracked Southern Illinois' defensive code. The Salukis entered the game ranked second in the Missouri Valley Conference by conceding just 62.4 points per game. Drake lit up the scoreboard for 91 points, the most Southern Illinois has allowed this year, on a scalding 63.5 percent clip from the field.

Sara Rhine contributed 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting. She pulled down eight rebounds to bring her career tally to 910, eighth most in program history. Rhine also blocked one shot, the 89^th rejection of her career, to tie for sixth in Drake history. Also, in double figures was Brenni Rose with 11 points and Sarah Beth Gueldner with 10 points. Hannah Fuller had five points, five rebounds and two assists. Maddie Monahan just missed double figures with nine points and added five assists and two steals.
 
Drake handed out an impressive 55 assists on 61 field goals last weekend in wins over Valpo and Loyola. Against the Salukis, the Bulldogs had 24 on 33 makes, as five Bulldogs handed out two or more assists.
 
Drake concludes its season-long four-game homestand on Sunday against No. 24 Missouri State. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Prior to Sunday's game, Drake will host its third annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day Clinic inside the Shivers Basketball Practice Facility. NGWSD recognizes the extraordinary progress sparked by Title IX and the ongoing effort to ensure access to sports for girls and women.