The Drake University women's basketball team heads east to take on Loyola on Friday Jan. 7 and Valparaiso on Sunday Jan. 9, in their first road trip of conference play.
The Bulldogs are 1-1 in conference play. They fell to Indiana State by eight on Dec. 30. Drake lost their lead over the Sycamores late in the third quarter and struggled to maintain possession to come out on top.
In their first game of the new year, Drake topped Evansville 97-54. Six of the 13 Bulldogs who entered the game scored in double-digits and three of those six recorded a double-double. It was the first time since Feb. 2016 since three Bulldogs have recorded a double-double in a single game.
Leading the pack was junior guard
Megan Meyer, who tied a career high 19 points and set a career high 11 assists. Freshman forward
Anna Miller added 16 points and grabbed a career high 14 rebounds for Drake. Sophomore forward
Courtney Becker tallied 10 points and grabbed a career high 12 rebounds.
Junior forward
Maggie Bair added 13 points, redshirt-junior forward
Grace Berg added 12 points, and graduate guard
Hannah Fuller added 11 points.
The six combined for 81 of the Bulldogs 97 points. Drake also grabbed a season high 59 rebounds and tied a season high 31 assists. The Bulldogs also recorded 46 bench points in the 43 points win over the Aces.
Drake faces Loyola first on the road trip. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday Jan. 7 on ESPN+.
The Ramblers host the Bulldogs with an 8-5 overall record and are currently 0-2 in Valley play. They fell in their season opener to Missouri State, 38-55. Freshman guard Trinity Clinton led the Ramblers with nine points. She shot 50 percent from the floor (3-6) and free throw line (1-2) but shot 100 percent from beyond the arc (2-2).
Starting senior forward Allison Day added seven points and grabbed five rebounds in the Ramblers loss to the Bears.
SIU topped Loyola by 13 on Jan. 2. Day led the Ramblers with 18 points, three rebounds, and three assists. She currently leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.0 per game and 12.5 points per game in conference contests.
The Ramblers struggled to gain a lead in both contests and recorded 18 turnovers in both.
Drake leads the all-time series with Loyola, 19-3 and record a 15-game winning-streak against the Ramblers. In Chicago, the Bulldogs are 10-3 overall. The last time the Bulldogs lost to the Ramblers in Chicago was on Nov. 23, 1991 when they fell by 13.
On Sunday Jan. 9, the Bulldogs will play Valparaiso in Indiana at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
The Beacons are 2-11 overall and 0-2 in Valley play. Most recently, like Loyola, Valpo fell to both SIU and Missouri State. The Beacons will play UNI on Friday Jan. 9, prior to hosting Drake on Sunday.
Valpo had two players tally 17 points against the Salukis on Dec. 31, senior guard Shay Fredrick and sophomore guard/forward Leah Earnest. The two shot 12-26 from the floor and 5-11 from beyond the arc.
Fredrick leads the Beacons in scoring this season, averaging 11.8 points per game.
In their meeting with the Bears, the Beacons fell by 12. Junior guard Olivia Brown led the team with 21 points. Fredrick added 14 points and Earnest tallied 10. The trio combined for 45 of Valpo's 62 points.
In both the Beacons Valley games, they committed more turnovers than their opponent.
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series with the Beacons, 13-0, scoring an average of 83.15 points. The two teams history dates back to Dec. of 1994 when the two met for the first time in Des Moines.
The Bulldogs return to Des Moines after their trip east to host a pair of conference games at the Knapp.
