DES MOINES, Iowa - Grace Berg scored her four biggest points of the game in the final 10 seconds and the Drake University women's basketball team rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Southern Illinois 74-70 at the Knapp Center on Thursday night.
 
Limited to eight minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, Berg finished with 14 points to lead the Bulldogs, who improved to 11-8 overall and 9-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference after overcoming their largest deficit of the season in a victory.
 
Drake pulled it off by holding Southern Illinois scoreless over the final 1:43 and getting a couple of timely defensive plays from Sarah Beth Gueldner and Allie Wooldridge.
 
Maggie Negaard matched her season high with 13 points for Bulldogs, knocking down 5-of-6 shots, including a couple of 3-pointers. Taylor McAulay equalled her career high with 11 points and Maddie Monahan also scored 11. Berg dished out a career-best six assists, while Negaard and Monahan each had four.
 
Makenzie Silvey led Southern Illinois (6-9, 3-7 MVC) with 18 points, while teammate Gabby Walker played a strong game in the post with 14 points and nine rebounds.
  
Southern Illinois, which needed only 43 points to win its last game, ran a patient, efficient offense and scored several times just as the shot clock was running out. The Salukis shot 48.3 percent from the field and matched their season-high with nine 3-pointers.
  
With its sharp shooting and a 20-13 rebounding edge that included nine offensive boards, SIU built a 43-35 halftime lead and scored the first five points of the second half to go up 48-35. Monahan answered with a 3-pointer 10 seconds later and the Bulldogs began to chip away.
  
They got the lead down to 57-51 when McAulay stole the ball and hit a layup just before the buzzer ending the third quarter and finally tied it at 61 when Monahan connected on a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner, just in front of the Drake bench.
 
The lead seesawed from there, with Southern Illinois taking its last lead, 70-69, on Payton McCallister's jumper with 1:43 remaining. Gueldner's steal led to a McAulay free throw that tied it with 40.3 seconds to go and McAulay snared the rebound after SIU missed a 3-pointer. Following a Drake timeout to advance the ball, Berg drove from the top of the key and banked in a layup with 8.8 seconds left to finally put the Bulldogs ahead to stay, 72-70.
  
After SIU advanced the ball, Wooldridge deflected the inbounds pass into the post, Gueldner recovered and Berg sank two free throws with 5.4 seconds left to cap the comeback.
  
Southern Illinois made its first three shots from behind the arc in jumping to a 9-2 lead and led 25-18 at the end of the opening quarter. The Salukis were 5-for-9 from long range in the quarter but went 4-for-15 the rest of the way. Still, they scored enough inside the arc to keep the Bulldogs at bay until the end.
  
The Bulldogs did a better job on the boards in the second half and gave up just two second-chance points after surrendering 11 in the first two quarters.
  
It was Drake's 11th straight victory over Southern Illinois, which has lost seven of its last eight this season. The two teams will meet again at the Knapp Center at 5 p.m. Friday. The rematch will be streamed on ESPN+.