NORMAL, Ill. – Drake women's basketball opened the 2022-23 Missouri Valley Conference season with an 87-76 loss at last year's Hoops in the Heartland champion Illinois State.
 
Forwards Anna Miller and Maggie Bair were shining stars for the Bulldogs in Drake's comeback attempt. Miller posted a team-high 19 points for her first double-double of the year and fifth of her career. Bair added 13 points while leading all players on the glass with 12 boards.
 
Drake started the scoring just six seconds into the game as Katie Dinnebier hauled in the jump ball from Bair and fed it right back to the senior post for a deuce. Bair then went on to score or assist on the Bulldogs' first seven points.
 
The Redbirds were able to overcome seven lead changes in the first few moments of the game and exploded with a 29-point first period. Illinois State was able to build two separate 18-point leads in the first half.
 
Despite the Redbirds' control through most of the first two quarters, Drake closed the first half on a 7-0 run to get within 11 at halftime.
 
The host Redbirds bounced back to start the third period and rolled through an 11-2 run in the first 4:51 of the second half.
 
Later in the third, Grace Berg and Miller then hit back-to-back old fashioned three-pointers to start a comeback effort. Early in the fourth quarter, Bair buried a triple to get back within 11. Later, Miller went coast-to-coast after a steal to cut the lead to just nine. The Bulldogs were able to get within eight points but could not chase down a fiery Illinois State squad.
 
"The biggest thing is just coming out and being ready to play," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said after the game. "[We] give credit to our opponent, Illinois State was ready to go…[they] scored 29 points in the first quarter. We definitely had opportunities to showcase what we do better but credit to Illinois State."
 
"I still love the grit and toughness of this team," Pohlman continued. "They continue to [play with] grit and scrap and dive on the floor. We're going to figure a few things out and I hope we can talk [after the game on] Sunday about how we figured it out fast."
 
Drake will continue their MVC schedule on Sunday, Jan. 1 at Bradley. The Bulldogs and Braves will each be looking to ring in the new year with their first league win of the 2022-23 season.

NOTES

• Taylor McAulay entered the starting lineup for the first time in her career.
• Anna Miller poured in 19 points, a new career high, and collected 11 rebounds for her fifth-career double-double.
• Grace Berg scored 17 points and fouled out for the second time this season.
• Illinois State has now won the last four matchups with Drake in Normal.
• Drake outrebounded the Redbirds, 37-34.
• Katie Dinnebier was the fourth Bulldog in double-figures with 11 points.
• Iowa native Mary Crompton scored 20 points for Illinois State and eclipsed the 1,000-career point threshold in the process.
• Drake now leads the all-time series with Illinois State, 49-39.