SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An 11-0 start by No. 25 Missouri State proved too much for the Drake University women's basketball team Saturday in a 78-63 Missouri Valley Conference road loss.
 
Drake (7-8, 5-3 MVC) was within three points late in third quarter but Missouri State (8-2, 4-0 MVC) countered with a 15-1 run over the end of the third and into the fourth to help pull away for the series sweep.
 
The Bulldogs' bench played great with 35 points led by Sarah Beth Gueldner who had 11 points for her second-straight double-figure game. Maggie Bair scored nine points before leaving the game in the second quarter due to injury. Freshman Courtney Becker scored a career-high eight points. Kierra Collier finished with 11 points while Grace Berg added nine points.
 
Jazmine Franklin scored a game-high 20 points as all five Lady Bears' starters scored in double figures.
 
The 11-0 start to the game put the Bulldogs in an early hole. Bair's three-pointer three minutes in put Drake on the scoreboard. Missouri State built a 22-12 lead after one quarter as Bair had a game-high seven points in the opening quarter.
 
Out of the first media timeout in the second quarter, Berg converted an and-one to pull Drake within five at 28-23. However, Missouri State closed on a 13-3 run to lead 41-26 at halftime. The Bulldogs made 7-of-9 from the free throw in the second but shot just 21.4 percent from the floor making just three field goals. Paced by Bair's nine points the Bulldogs' bench had 18 points.
 
Mya Mertz's and-one with the free throw after the third-quarter media timeout made the score 50-37 in favor of Missouri State. Drake trimmed the margin further as Gueldner drilled a three and Burich converted her own and-one as the team trailed 50-43 with four minutes in the third. Later, Collier's three-pointer with 1:40 in the quarter made it a three-point game at 52-49. But Missouri State closed on a 9-1 as part of that deciding 15-1 run.
 
Drake returns to the Knapp Center Wednesday for an in-state matchup with UNI at 6 p.m.