DES MOINES -- The Drake University women's basketball team hit Minnesota with a barrage of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and pulled away to a 77-63 victory at the Knapp Center on Thursday afternoon to close out the nonconference portion of its schedule with an impressive win.

The Bulldogs (8-3) bounced back from a disappointing performance in a loss at Nebraska on Sunday with a 48-point second half that featured the type of play Drake fans have become accustomed to seeing -- crisp passes that found open shooters or led to layups and sharp shooting.

Ahead just 29-27 at halftime, Drake shot 73.9 percent in the second half (17-of-23), including a sizzling 8-for-10 effort in the third quarter. That carried the Bulldogs to 48.3 percent for the game (29-of-60) and they had assists on 24 of those baskets.

Drake was clinging to 53-51 lead when the 3-pointers began raining in. The Bulldogs made six straight from behind the arc in a 5-minute stretch to blow out to a 77-58 lead.

The big surge started with two Maddie Petersen free throws. Katie Dinnebier then found Hannah Fuller on the right wing with a cross-court pass and Fuller buried the shot. Less than a minute later, Dinnebier found Petersen for a 3 and yet another Dinnebier pass got the ball to Fuller in the left corner and she connected again.

It was 64-51 and the Bulldogs weren't finished. Grace Berg hit Dinnebier for a 3, Fuller drove for a layup and then found Berg for a 3 from the left corner. After Dinnebier drove for a layup, Berg swished another 3 from the left corner and the Bulldogs were home free.

It was quite a turnaround for the Bulldogs, who missed their first seven shots from long range and did not make one until Dinnebier threw one up from the Bulldog logo in the middle of the floor to beat the shot clock with 3:36 left in the first half. That put Drake ahead 25-23 and the Bulldogs, who finished 9-for-22 from long range, held in check a Minnesota team that had scored 99 points in its previous game.

Berg and Dinnebier led Drake with 14 points each, with Berg going 5-for-6 from the field and Dinnebier 5-for-9. Petersen and Courtney Becker each scored 11 points -- it was a season high for Becker -- and Fuller played what may have been the best game of her Bulldog career. The senior from West Des Moines finished with a boxscore stuffing line of 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Maggie Bair, Drake's starting post player, got hit in the face just 2:26 into the game and did not return. She left after scoring the Bulldogs' first four points.

Even without Bair, Drake outrebounded the taller Gophers 40-26, including 11 on the offensive end to keep possessions alive when the Bulldogs weren't shooting well. Megan Meyer matched Fuller with six rebounds and Becker grabbed five.

Sara Scalia, who scored 37 points in Minnesota's 99-93 victory over Ohio last week, led the Gophers (7-7) with 22 points on 8-for-16 shooting. She went 6-for-12 from 3-point range. The rest of the team was 2-for-13.

Drake, which has won seven of its last eight, opens Missouri Valley Conference play against Indiana State at the Knapp Center on Thursday, Dec. 30. The 8-3 record is the Bulldogs' best mark in nonconference play since the 1994-95 team went 8-0 en route to a 13-0 start.


TEAM NOTES

• After scoring just 29 points in the first half, Drake exploded for 48 points in the second half while shooting 73.9 percent (17-23).
• After making just one of 10 three-point baskets in the first half, Drake closed out the game making eight of 12 shots beyond the arc (.667).
• Drake had 24 assists on 29 baskets, marking the sixth time this season the Bulldogs had collected 20 or more assists in a game.
• Drake outrebounded Minnesota, 40-26
• Drake tied a season low with points in the first quarter at 12, equaling the previous low mark of 12 against South Dakota.
• Drake improved to 7-1 when leading at half after owning a 29-27 lead.
• Meanwhile, this marked the first time Minnesota lost a game this season after leading after the first quarter. The Gophers had been 7-0.
• Drake's 29 points were the second fewest in one half this season (low was 19 vs. South Dakota)

 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Grace Berg and Katie Dinnebier led Drake with 14 points apiece. Dinneibier tallied 11 points in the second half, while Berg netted 10 points in the second half. 
• Megan Meyer and Hannah Fuller paced Drake with six rebounds apiece. Meyer matched a career high with the six boards.
• Katie Dinnebier tied a career high with four three-point baskets, while making three three-plus three-point baskets for the fourth time this season
• Hannah Fuller tied a career high with two three-point baskets.
• Fuller also led Drake with a season-high five assists.

 
THE SERIES

• Drake improved its record against Minnesota to 10-6, including 7-1 at home