CARBONDALE, Ill. – Drake women's basketball extended their winning streak to four games, the Bulldogs' longest of the season, with an 87-73 victory at Southern Illinois this evening. The Bulldogs improved to 12-5 overall and 7-2 in MVC action.
 
Both teams got on the board early with a bucket apiece in the first 20 seconds of the game. Drake settled into a zone defense in the first quarter which SIU took advantage of. The Salukis also capitalized on excellent defensive play on the interior.
 
Anna Miller sunk a three-pointer with roughly two minutes to play in the opening quarter. SIU answered with back-to-back threes by Aja Holmes' to five the hosts a 23-18 lead after one.
 
The Salukis' Ashley Jones carried SIU in the first half, reaching her average of 14 points midway through the second quarter. Jones eventually set her own Southern Illinois single-game record with 30 points in the matchup.
 
Later in the second quarter Katie Dinnebier dished out one of her career-high 14 assists to Taylor McAulay to take the lead. Dinnebier then buried a three with 55 seconds left in the first half to give Drake a 43-42 lead at halftime.
 
After the break, the Bulldogs jumped out to start the second half with a 7-2 run to take a six-point lead, their largest of the game to that point. Southern Illinois responded with a 12-4 spurt to reclaim the lead for themselves.
 
The Bulldogs finally settled into a groove in the fourth period sparked by an Anna Miller layup. Miller was the fifth Bulldog to score double figures.
 
 
"We got things going early in the third quarter and then they went on a run of their own," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman explained after the win. "We knew we had to take over and really took that to heart…We did a nice job of buckling down [defensively]. Our paint protectors did a nice job…[we had some] great drops in our zone from our forwards. Hats off to this group, I'm so proud of our team to come on the road and win this one."
 
Drake will conclude their weekend on the road this Saturday, Jan. 28, when the Bulldogs visit Missouri State.
 
 
TEAM NOTES

• Drake, winning its fourth-straight game, improved its record to 12-5 including a 7-2 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Drake shot 57.9% from the field, their most efficient effort of the season.
• Drake out rebounded Valparaiso, 35-34, improving to 11-4 when out rebounding opponents this season.
• The Bulldogs have scored at least 80 points in 11 of their 12 victories this season.
• Drake tied a season high with 13 steals, marking the fifth game this season the Bulldogs had collected 10 or more steals.
• The Bulldogs dished out 29 assists on 33 made field goals, tying their single-game high for the season.
• Drake's 43-42 halftime lead marked the sixth time Drake has scored 40-plus points in the first half this season
• Drake improved its record to 11-3 when leading at halftime this season
• The Bulldogs are now 3-0 when playing on Thursdays and 7-1 in the month of January.

 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Seniors Sarah Beth Gueldner and Maggie Bair led Drake with 19 points each.
• Gueldner went 5-for-11 from deep, her seventh game of the year making four or more triples.
• Sophomore guard Katie Dinnebier scored 10 points and distributed a career-high 14 assists, the first Drake player to record that many assists since Caitlin Ingle in 2016.
• Grace Berg and Anna Miller rounded out the Bulldogs' double-digit scorers with 18 points and 15 points, respectively.
• Miller also had a new career-high six blocks.

 
THE SERIES

• Drake now leads the series with SIU by a 66-30 margin with 24 wins coming in Carbondale.