The Drake University women's basketball team settled in defensively after a rocky start, but had to come from too far back and lost to South Dakota 61-46 at the Knapp Center on Monday night.
 
Normally, holding a team to 61 points and forcing 22 turnovers as the Bulldogs did in this one would be a recipe for a victory. But the Bulldogs' offensive struggles, especially in the first half, left them scrambling to try to get back in it.
 
Drake (1-1) shot just 19.2 percent (5-for-26) in the first half and finished at 25.9 percent for the game after shooting a little better over the final two quarters.
 
South Dakota, winning for the first time after season-opening losses to Oklahoma and top-ranked South Carolina, zoomed to a 29-12 lead on 11-for-18 shooting in the first quarter, then managed only 32 points over the final three quarters against a more aggressive Drake defense.
 
The Coyotes did a good job keeping the Bulldogs away from the basket and forced difficult shots when Drake did get the ball inside. Drake's long-range shooting -- 6-for-28 on 3-pointers -- wasn't good enough to force the defense to spread out.
 
Megan Meyer and Maggie Bair led Drake with 10 points each, while Grace Berg had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Bair added 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks and Meyer had a team-best 3 assists.
 
Drake trailed 40-19 at halftime and fell behind by 24 midway through the third quarter. The Bulldogs then found some rhythm offensively and ran off 11 straight points -- a run that included 4 points from Meyer and a 3 from Katie Dinnebier -- to cut the lead to 52-39 with 8:27 left.
 
But the rally died there and South Dakota did just enough to pull away and win comfortably, holding the Bulldogs to just one more basket after Dinnebier's 3.
 
Center Hannah Sjerven, who went 2-for-10 in the loss to South Carolina, made 9 of 14 shots and led the Coyotes with 25 points and 12 rebounds. South Dakota shot 44.9 percent for the game.
 
Drake faces another challenging game later this week. No. 14 Iowa State visits the Knapp for a 6 p.m. tipoff on Thursday.


TEAM NOTES

• Drake shot a season-low 26.9 percent (15-28) from the floor, including 19.2 percent (5-26) in the first half.
• Drake forced South Dakota into a season-high 22 turnovers, including 16 in the second half.
• The Bulldogs collected 10 steals, doubling their output of five in the season opener against Creighton.

 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Maggie Bair and Megan Meyer led Drake with 10 points apiece.
• Grace Berg paced the Bulldogs with a team-high six rebounds, while collecting a team-high three steals. 

THE SERIES

• South Dakota has won six of the last eight meetings to even the all-time series at 6-6, including a 3-3 mark in Des Moines.