DES MOINES -- Six players reached double figures and the Drake University women's basketball team held Northern Illinois scoreless in the fourth quarter in rolling to a 96-44 victory at the Knapp Center on Sunday afternoon.
The Bulldogs (7-2) just missed reaching the 100-point mark for what would have been a school-record third straight time, but still posted impressive numbers on both ends of the court in winning their sixth consecutive game. Drake came up with a season-high 11 steals and logged 31 assists, the most by a Missouri Valley Conference team this season.
The sharp passing led to numerous layups and enabled Drake to outscore the Huskies 54-20 on points in the paint. The Bulldogs also knocked down 11 3-pointers and shot 52.1 percent.
Northern Illinois (3-4), missing four key players because of injuries, stayed with the Bulldogs early and hit three 3-pointers in an 11-0 run that tied the game at 33. But it was all Drake after that. The Bulldogs outscored NIU 63-11 the rest of the way, including 17-0 in the final quarter.
The final margin was Drake's largest since a 103-18 victory over Waldorf on Dec. 5, 2019. NIU's 44 points are the fewest the Bulldogs have allowed this season.
Freshman
Anna Miller led the Bulldogs with a career-high 18 points on near-perfect shooting -- 7-for-7 from the field, including a 3-pointer, and 3-for-4 on free throws.
Megan Meyer went 4-for-8 from 3-point range and scored 16 points,
Maggie Bair added 12 to go with five rebounds and a season-high three blocks and
Grace Berg,
Katie Dinnebier and
Courtney Becker each contributed 10 points.
Dinnebier also had a team-best six assists and made three steals, while
Hannah Fuller had a big game off the bench -- three points, a season-high five steals and a career-high seven rebounds.
Bair dropped in two layups and Meyer drained a pair of 3s as Drake jumped to a 10-3 lead less than 2 minutes into the game. NIU pulled to 12-11 before the Bulldogs stretched the lead to 19-11 on Bair's 3-pointer from the top of the key. Dinnebier's steal and layup at the buzzer left Drake ahead 25-19 at the end of the quarter and six straight points at the start of the second quarter hiked the lead to 31-19.
It was 33-22 when Northern Illinois made what would be its final run. The Huskies, who came in averaging nine 3s a game, hit three from long range in less than 2 minutes and suddenly, it was 33-all.
Berg fed
Allie Wooldridge for a layup to end Drake's drought and the Bulldogs were won their way. They outscored NIU 18-2 to end the half for a 51-35 lead, then ran off the first 11 points of the third quarter. That made for an overall run of 29-2 and a 62-35 lead, and the Bulldogs continued to pull away from there.
Janae Poisson led Northern Illinois with 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and Chelby Koker scored 10. The Huskies shot just 24.3 percent for the game and went 0-for-15 in the fourth quarter.
Drake wraps up the nonconference portion of its schedule with two games against Big Ten Conference teams -- Sunday, Dec. 19, at Nebraska and Thursday, Dec. 23, against Minnesota in the Knapp Center. Missouri Valley Conference play starts Dec. 30 at home against Indiana State.
TEAM NOTES
- Drake, winning its sixth straight game, improved its record to 7-2 entering a Dec. 19 nonconference road game at Nebraska.
- The six-game winning streak is the longest at the school since the Bulldogs won six games en route to winning the 2020 MVC Tournament title.
- Drake set a school-record by scoring 96-plus points in three straight games (104-Longwood; 101-Simpson; 96-Northern Illinois)
- This was Drake's widest victory margin since a 103-18 home win against Waldorf Dec. 5, 2019.
- Drake tied a school record and tied an NCAA record by holding Northern Illinois without a point in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Huskies 17-0. The last time Drake held an opponent scoreless in a quarter was the third quarter against Waldorf, Dec. 5, 2019.
- Drake had six players score in double figures for the first time this season, while also marking the second time in the last three games Drake had five players reach double-figure scoring
- Using an 18-2 run to close out the first half, Drake enjoyed a 51-35 halftime lead to mark the third straight game in which the Bulldogs scored 50-plus points in a game
- Drake shot 52.1 percent (38-73) from the floor, marking the third straight game the Bulldogs had shot 50 percent or better & fourth overall game this season
- Drake made 11 three-point baskets, marking the fifth time this season the Bulldogs had made 10-plus treys in a game.
- Drake dished out a MVC season-high 31 assists
- Drake collected a season-high 11 steals, while marking the third time this season the Bulldogs had collected 10 plus steals in a game
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Anna Miller led a balanced Drake scoring attack with 18 points, including 11 in the first half.
- Megan Meyer netted 16 points (10 first half) followed by Maggie Bair with 12 (nine first half), and 10 apiece from Grace Berg, Courtney Becker and Katie Dinnebier.
- Meyer made a game-high four three-point baskets, marking the third straight game making three or more treys.
- Bair added a season-high three blocked shots
- Hannah Fuller had a career-high seven rebounds and had a season high five steals.
- Dinnebier had three steals, enjoying her third straight game collecting three or more steals.
