DES MOINES, Iowa – Over 1,000 fans found refuge from blizzard conditions in the Knapp Center on Thursday evening and witnessed an 81-49 victory over Bradley. The Bulldogs used lights-out shooting and exceptional defensive effort to secure their 10th conference win of the season, exceeding their MVC win total from a season ago.
 
Maggie Bair led Drake with 15 points and 14 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Bair's 14 boards moved her above the 600-mark for her career.
 
Drake had three other double-digit scorers including both Taylor McAulay and Anna Miller with 11 as well as Sarah Beth Gueldner with 10. McAulay's night included a new career-high three made three-pointers.
 
Elsewhere, Ava Hawthorne also netted a new career high with six points and Katie Dinnebier led all players with nine assists.
 
Thursday night's tilt started slowly as both teams opened the game on a 2:22 scoreless streak. Eventually, Maggie Bair sunk a pair of free throws for the game's first points.
 
Drake followed the freebies with a Taylor McAulay three-pointer, one of her career-best three made threes, an Anna Miller layup, and two transition scores by Courtney Becker and Miller to give the Bulldogs an 11-0 lead and force a Bradley timeout.
 
The Bulldogs used precise three-point shooting to build a 15-0 advantage before Bradley first got on the board with a Nika Dorsey elbow jumper with just 3:04 remaining in the first period. Drake led 23-7 after one.
 
The Bulldogs opened the second quarter on another 10-3 run capped by an Ashley Iiams triple, her first made three in seven games, to force another Brave timeout.
 
Drake enjoyed their largest lead of the first half, a 40-13 advantage, with 5:08 remaining in the second quarter. The Bulldogs failed to score for the final 5:48 of the opening half but took a 42-27 lead into the break.
 
McAulay continued her stellar night with the first score of the second half to reach double-digits for the second time in three games.
 
The Bulldogs put their foot on the gas again in the third as Katie Dinnebier finished off a traditional three-point play followed by Ashley Iiams with a triple of her own to give Drake a 34-point lead. The Bulldogs were not done, however, and continued to score at will eventually led by as many as 36 points.
 
Outside of the second quarter, Drake's lead was never in doubt as the Bulldogs held on for the 81-49 win.
 
"Credit to Bradley in the second quarter, they came out and gave us a run and cut it to 15," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said after the Bulldogs' win. "They forced us to make some adjustments and we did. I'm really pleased with our turnovers; we took care of the basketball. [I'm] Really proud of our group going against a different defense again, we saw a 2-3 zone most of the game and did a nice job against it."
 
"Big time matchup [this Saturday against Illinois State], mostly because it's just our next game," Pohlman continued. "We want to welcome Illinois State to a sea of pink for our Pink Game. We'll get back in the lab and be ready to go."
 
Drake will be back on the floor this Saturday, Feb. 18 for their annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness. The Bulldogs will tip off against host MVC-leading Illinois State at 2 p.m.
 
 
TEAM NOTES
•Drake improved its overall record to 15-8 with a 10-5 Missouri Valley Conference mark.
•The Bulldogs are 9-2 at home this season including four consecutive home wins.
•Drake bettered last season's conference win total (9-9 MVC record in 2021-22).
•Drake began the game on a 15-0 run over the first 6:56 of the game.
•Bradley did not make its first field goal until the 3:04 mark of the first quarter.
•Drake did not make a field goal over the last 5:48 of the second quarter.
•Drake improved to 4-0 in games played on Thursday this season.
•Drake is 6-1 in games this season following a loss.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Maggie Bair was recognized before the game for surpassing 1,000 career points.
•Bair has scored in double figures a team-best 19 times this season.
•Bair recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 15 points and a season-high 14 rebounds.
•Bair has eclipsed 600 career rebounds (613).
•Four Bulldogs scored in double figures (Bair-15, McAulay-11, Miller-11, Gueldner-10).
•Sarah Beth Gueldner tied her career-high of two blocks.
•Taylor McAulay set a new career-high with three made 3-pointers.
•Katie Dinniebier dished out a game-high nine assists.
•Ava Hawthorne scored a career-high six points.
 
THE SERIES
•Drake extended its lead in the all-time series to 67-18 and has won three straight in the series. 
•The Bulldogs are 35-6 in games against Bradley played in Des Moines.