DES MOINES -- A slew of turnovers and Indiana State's sharp second-half shooting sent the Drake University women's basketball team to a 78-70 loss in the opening game of the Missouri Valley Conference season at the Knapp Center on Thursday night.

Indiana State broke a 10-game losing streak to Drake and handed the Bulldogs' their first loss in a conference opener since Jan 1, 2016, when Drake lost to Southern Illinois 77-67.

Drake (8-4) led by as many as 13 points in the first half and was up by nine early in the fourth quarter before the Sycamores (6-6) rallied to beat the Bulldogs for the first time since a 68-53 victory in Terre Haute on Feb. 14, 2016.

The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field and outrebounded Indiana State 34-20 but committed a season-high 30 turnovers. The Sycamores came up with 17 steals and built a 32-15 edge in points off turnovers, more than enough to account for the final margin.

Junior Grace Berg led Drake with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Junior Maggie Bair, playing with a clear face mask to protect a broken nose, was the only other Drake player in double figures with 11 points. Freshman Anna Miller added nine points and graduate Maddie Petersen scored eight. Petersen also had two assists to move into sixth place on Drake's records list with 482.

Graduate Hannah Fuller led the Bulldogs with a career-high nine rebounds to go with five points, three steals and two assists. Junior Megan Meyer came up with a career-high three steals.

Indiana State came in shooting just 28.5 percent from 3-point range but went 10-for-19 from behind the arc and shot 50 percent overall, including 61.5 percent (16-for-26) in the second half. Drake was just 6-for-19 from long range after hitting 15 3s in a 77-63 victory over Minnesota a week ago.

Berg's 3-pointer from the right wing after Fuller kept the possession alive with two offensive rebounds gave Drake a 20-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bulldogs built the lead to 32-19 midway through the second quarter and were up 37-26 before five straight Indiana State points cut the lead to 37-31 at halftime.

Drake had assists on 13 of its 14 first-half baskets, but Indiana State clogged up the passing lanes after that and the Bulldogs struggled to get good shots inside over the final two quarters. Still, they seemed to have control of the game after scoring the first eight points of the fourth quarter to go up 58-49.

That's when the Sycamores turned things around. Natalic Lalic, who had been averaging 5.5 points, knocked down four straight 3-pointers to start a 19-3 run that lifted Indiana State into a 68-61 lead.

Petersen nailed a 3 from the top of the key to draw the Bulldogs to 68-64 and they got a chance to get even closer when they forced a 5-second call as Indiana State tried to inbound the ball. But Drake gave the ball right back on a 5-second call, Marie Hunter hit a pull-up jumper in the lane and Drake never got closer than five points after that.

Lalic led the Sycamores with a career-high 20 points, Del'Janae Williams scored 17 and Hunter had 15 on 7-for-10 shooting.

Drake will return to action on New Year's Day against Evansville at the Knapp Center at 2 p.m.
  

TEAM NOTES

• This marked the first time Drake lost its Missouri Valley Conference opener since the 2015-16 campaign when it fell to Southern Illinois, 77-67, Jan. 1, 2016 in the Drake Knapp Center. 
• Drake's record in league openers slipped to 26-15 while snapping a string of five straight MVC opening wins.
• The Bulldogs fell to 8-4 entering a league home game with Evansville Saturday.
• Drake had a four-game home winning streak come to a halt.
• Drake shot 50 percent (28-56), marking the fifth game this season the Bulldogs have shot 50 percent or better.
• Drake outrebounded Indiana State, 34-20.
• Drake tied a season low with six three-point baskets
• Drake committed a Missouri Valley Conference high 30 turnovers.
• Drake slipped to 7-2 in games in which it led at half after owning a 37-31 intermission lead.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Grace Berg led Drake with 16 points, including nine in the second half. 
• Hannah Fuller led both teams with a career-high nine rebounds
• Megan Meyer had a career-high three steals
• Maddie Petersen collected two assists to move into No. 6 on the Drake career assists list at 482, passing Keisha Cox who had 481 from 1994-98.

 
THE SERIES

•  Indiana State snapped a 10-game losing streak to Drake, earning its first victory against the Bulldogs since Feb. 14, 2016.
• Drake's record against Indiana State in the all-time series fell to 61-24.