DES MOINES, Iowa – An impressive effort against a good opponent sent the Drake University women's basketball team to a satisfying season-opening victory.
Grace Berg scored 20 points, three teammates also finished in double figures and sophomore Anna Miller matched her career high with 14 rebounds as the Bulldogs rolled past Green Bay 80-67 at Knapp Center on Monday night. It was the Bulldogs' seventh straight victory in a season opener.
 
Drake broke open a close game with a fourth-quarter surge that included three straight 3-pointers and turned aside a team known for its aggressive, physical defense. Green Bay never gave up more than 73 points in a game all last season en route to a 19-8 record.
 
Maggie Bair added 17 points – 13 in the second half -- and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs, making the most of her 17 minutes on the floor. She went to the bench with two fouls after playing just 3:51 in the first half, then made her presence felt once she returned at the start of the second half.
 
She got three quick baskets in the third quarter, then made a layup and sank a 3-pointer to start a 15-2 run that finished off the Phoenix.
 
Berg knocked down a career-high four 3-pointers, missing only once from long range, and added seven rebounds, five assists and two steals to her line. Megan Meyer and Sarah Beth Gueldner each scored 10 points and Miller contributed six points to go with 14 rebounds.
 
Miller and Courtney Becker helped Drake control the boards while Bair was on the bench. Becker grabbed seven rebounds, helping the Bulldogs to a 45-35 edge on the boards.
The Bulldogs also matched Green Bay's defensive intensity, holding the Phoenix to 38.8 percent shooting, and coming up with eight steals and four blocks. The Phoenix finished just 7-for-26 from 3-point range.
 
Drake fought its way to a 32-27 halftime lead despite Bair's long absence. The Bulldogs also played much the opening half without starting point guard Katie Dinnebier, who went to the bench with her second foul late in the first quarter.
 
A 10-0 run that included 3s by Berg and Meyer stretched the lead to 55-41, but Green Bay still had one burst left, drawing to 58-55 early in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs answered in a big way.
 
Becker fed Bair for a bucket inside and Bair hit a 3 from the top of the key moments later. Berg followed with a 3 from the same spot and Taylor McAulay hit one from the left wing for a 69-55 lead. After two Green Bay free throws, Dinnebier sank two free throws and Miller found Berg for a layup. That made it 73-57 and the Bulldogs were home free.
 
"Wow, that was just a full team effort," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. "We just took our keys to the game with high-level execution. Grace [Berg] and Maggie's [Bair] experience and knowledge of our system and what we do offensively is really cool to watch enhance our chemistry. Anna Miller is just a spark, we really have three players that come off the bench that provide that. What she's able to do in the paint is just great. This is a really good Green Bay team, so to tie or win all four quarters is a testament to play our first game at home."
 
Drake will return to action next Sunday, Nov. 13 when fourth-ranked Iowa visits the Knapp Center for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
 
 
 
 
NOTES

• Drake has won seven season openers in a row.
• Drake is 37-12 all-time in season openers and now 32-17 in home openers.
• Allison Pohlman is 2-0 in season openers. 
• The win snaps a four-game losing streak against Green Bay. Drake's last win over Green Bay occurred on March 22, 2008, in the WNIT. 
• Green Bay only allowed 70 or more points twice during the 2021-22 season.
• Drake outrebounded Green Bay by a 45-35 margin. 
• Anna Miller tied her single-game career-high of 14 rebounds (previously done on Jan. 1, 2022, against Evansville). 
• Grace Berg set a new single game career-high by sinking four three-pointers (4-for-5 from three-point range). 
• Grace Berg scored 20 points or more for the 10^th time in her career. 
• Taylor McAulay dished out a career-high five assists. 
• Maggie Bair scored 17 points in 17 minutes of play. 
• West Branch, Iowa, native Tatum Koenig added 13 points off the bench for Green Bay. 
• Green Bay leads the all-time series, 6-3.