The Basics
Over the next two contests, Drake women's basketball will conclude their current three-game road swing at UNI before hosting Evansville. The Bulldogs will take on their rivals in Cedar Falls on Wednesday, Feb. 1 and welcome Evansville to the Knapp Center on Saturday, Feb. 4.
 
Power Point
Sophomore guard Katie Dinnebier has had a remarkable second season for the Bulldogs. She leads the MVC and ranks 17th nationally with 5.6 assists per game while scoring nearly 11 points per game. Dinnebier is the only player in Divsion I this season to record at least 10 points, 14 assists, and five steals in a single game. She did so in the Bulldogs' 87-73 win at Southern Illinois (1/26).
 
Don't Stop Bair-lieving
Senior forward Maggie Bair leads the Bulldogs in the locker room and in multiple statistical categories on the court. Bair is scoring 15.9 points on a .623 field goal percentage, the latter leading the MVC and ranking seventh in the nation. She also paces the Bulldogs' rebounding effort with 7.9 boards per game.
 
Secretary of the Interior
Second-year reserve forward Anna Miller has made the most of her increased role this season. Miller's scoring output has increased to 8.6 points per game. She has been a force on the defensive end of the floor with a team-high 42 total blocks and an average of 2.3 blocks per game. Her rejection numbers rank second in the MVC and 13th in Division I.
 
Amazing Grace
Drake graduate Grace Berg has had a quietly sensational 2022-23 season for the Bulldogs. The newest member of the Drake 1,000-point club is averaging 13.2 points on an even .500 field goal rate, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and is shooting an impressive 41.7% from three-point territory.
 
Glass Cleaners
The Bulldogs have been one of the premier rebounding teams in the entire sport this season. Drake is tied for first in the country with 32.8 defensive rebounds per game. The Bulldogs also leads the MVC in total rebounding average with 43.6 boards per contest.
 
Sharing is Caring
Led by Katie Dinnebier, Drake has also been among the most unselfish teams in the country. The Bulldogs leads Division I with 20.8 assists per game.
 
Rivalry Renewed
Drake and UNI will meet for the 97th time in the team's history. The Bulldogs will be looking to avenge this season's first matchup, a one-point, last-second defeat in Des Moines.
 
Team Stats Leaders
As a team, Drake ranks in the national top 10 of these statistical categories:
Def. reb./game - T-1st - 32.8
Assists/game - 1st - 20.8
Blocks/game - 4th - 5.9
Field goald pct. - 7th - 48.3
Rebounding margin - 10 - 10.0
 
Scouting UNI
UNI enters the week sitting one spot ahead of Drake in the MVC standings with an overall record of 13-6 and a conference mark of 8-2. Dating back to the first meeting between the Panthers and Bulldogs on Jan. 11, UNI has won five of their last six tilts. UNI's only loss in that stretch came at a red-hot Missouri State team by a 71-67 score. The Panthers won their most recent game, a 94-81 victory at Southern Illinois on Jan. 28.
 
The Panthers are led by a trio of double-digit scorers in Grace Boffeli (16.1 ppg), Maya McDermott (14.7 ppg), and Emerson Green (10.9 ppg). Boffeli's 16 points per game come on an impressive .543 field goal percentage. She also leads the team on the glass with 8.5 rebounds per game.
 
Elsewhere, McDermott's 3.3 assists per game coordinate the Panther offense. Ryley Goebel has been a key defensive cornerstone for UNI with team-highs in steals with 1.6 per game and blocks with 1.4 per game.
 
Tanya Warren leads the UNI women's basketball program. Warren is in her 16th season as the Panthers' head coach with a career record of 296-207.
 
Drake leads the all-time series with UNI by a 70-26 margin. Since 2017, the Panthers have won just two games including the most recent installment, a last-second 70-69 result in Des Moines on Jan. 11.
 
Scouting Evansville
The Purple Aces of Evansville sit in the middle of The Valley standings with an even 9-9 overall record and a 4-6 record in conference play. Evansville has alternated wins and losses over their last nine games. Most recently, the Purple Aces picked up a 75-67 win over Murray State and dropped a 76-58 contest to Belmont, both at home. Evansville will travel to Indiana State on Wednesday, Feb. 1 before visiting Drake this weekend.
 
The Purple Aces are led by 2022-23 preseason all-MVC selection Abby Feit and fifth-year guard Myia Clark, both averaging double figures. Feit paces Evansville with 15.8 points per game while Clark adds just under 12. Feit also leads the team with 7.9 rebounds per game, 1.6 steals per game, and 1.1 assists per game.
 
Evansville is led by head coach Robyn Scherr-Wells. In her second season leading the Purple Aces, Scherr-Wells has posted a record of 17-31 in Evansville while boasting a 161-114 career mark.
 
Drake owns a significant advantage in the all-time series with Evansville. The Bulldogs lead the matchup by a 50-14 margin including wins in the last 15 meetings. The Purple Aces' last win over Drake came on a neutral floor in the 2015 MVC Tournament.
 
Up Next
Drake will travel to Valparaiso and UIC for their penultimate road trip of the 2022-23 season. The Bulldogs will visit Valpo on Friday, Feb. 10 before taking on UIC in Chicago on Sunday, Feb. 12.