DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake University women's basketball team got a career-high 21 points from sharp-shooting sophomore Sarah Beth Gueldner and defeated Southern Illinois 83-54 at the Knapp Center on Friday night for its fifth-straight victory.
  
Grace Berg added 14 points in the balanced Drake offense, Allie Wooldridge scored 13 and Taylor McAulay 11 as the Bulldogs completed their fourth two-game sweep in Missouri Valley Conference play. The five-game winning streak is the longest of the season for Drake, now 12-8 overall and 10-3 in the league.
  
In topping her previous best of 17 points at Loyola last weekend, Gueldner matched her career high for 3-pointers by going 5-for-9 from behind the arc and shot 8-for-12 overall. It was the fourth time she has made five 3s in a game and she now has made at least one 3-pointer in 14 consecutive games. Gueldner has connected on at least two 3s in her last eight games.
  
Makenzie Silvey led Southern Illinois (6-10, 3-8) with 15 points and Rachel Pudlowski scored 12.
  
The game was a sharp contrast to the Bulldogs' 74-70 victory over the Salukis on Thursday night. Drake had to rally from a 13-point deficit and led for just 3 minutes, 16 seconds in that game.
  
In this one, the Bulldogs jumped to a 7-0 lead and never trailed. They built a 41-30 halftime lead and ran their offense so effectively in the second half that 14 of their 17 field goals were layups. The three others were Gueldner 3-pointers.
  
Drake, leading the nation in total assists, had assists on 26 of its 33 field goals and shot 58.9 percent. Every Drake player scored and every player logged at least one assist.
  
The Bulldogs also disrupted the Salukis with active hands and a more aggressive defense, coming up with 11 steals and forcing 23 turnovers in holding SIU to 35.7 percent shooting.
  
McAulay matched her career high in points for the second straight night and added two steals, two assists and two rebounds. Gueldner led the Bulldogs with three steals and Maddie Monahan handed out seven assists to go with six points.
  
Two 3-pointers from Gueldner and one from Myra Mertz -- her second of the season -- helped Drake build a 20-8 lead with 3:48 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs then went more than 6 minutes without a basket and Southern Illinois got back in it.
  
The Salukis finished the quarter with a 12-3 run and Silvey's 3 in the opening minute of the second quarter brought them into a tie at 23. But they never got the lead.
  
Burich -- she finished with nine points and nine rebounds -- hit a 3 from the top of the key and followed that with a layup, starting a 12-0 run that put the Bulldogs back in control. The Salukis never got closer than nine points after that and Drake led by double figures throughout the second half.
  
Fastbreak layups by Berg, Wooldridge and Gueldner trigged an 8-0 run that made it 49-30 and Gueldner knocked down three consecutive 3s from the left side to lead a 13-3 burst that stretched the lead to 66-41. The Bulldogs led by as many as 32 down the stretch as the consistently broke down the defense for layups.
  
Drake, holding down second place in the Valley, heads out on the road next week, playing at Illinois State on Feb. 19 and 20 and at Northern Iowa on Feb. 24. The Bulldogs finish the regular season at home against Valparaiso on March 5 and 6.