DES MOINES, Iowa – Anna Miller responded to her first start of the season by scoring 18 points, one short of her career high, and Drake dominated the final three quarters in beating Missouri Valley Conference leader Illinois State 83-67 at the Knapp Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
Three other Drake players scored in double figures in the annual Pink Game as the Bulldogs (16-8, 11-5 MVC) won their ninth straight at home against the Redbirds (19-7, 13-3) and avenged an 87-76 loss at Illinois State in the league opener on Dec. 30.
 
Grace Berg added 17 points for the Bulldogs and moved up one spot to 30^th on the school's career scoring list, running her total 1,132. Maggie Bair had 14 points and 14 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season and 17^th of her career, while Katie Dinnebier contributed 13 points, six assists and two steals without a turnover.
 
Drake shot 53 percent over the final three quarters and outscored the Redbirds 70-35 after falling behind 22-13 at the end of the first quarter. The Bulldogs shot 50.8 percent for the game, outrebounded Illinois State 44-25 and enjoyed a 46-32 edge in points in the paint, getting the ball inside on passes to Bair and Miller in the low post or drives by Dinnebier and Berg.
 
The 83 points are the most given up this season by Illinois State, which had been allowing only 61.5 points a game. Iowa City native Mary Crompton led the Redbirds with 17 points, going 4-for-6 from 3-point range and 6-for-9 overall.
 
The Bulldogs held Illinois State's season scoring leader, Paige Robinson, to a season-low two points on 1-for-11 shooting. She had been averaging 19.5.
 
Miller had notched her career high of 19 points in the first game with Illinois State. She made 8-of-12 shots in this one, including both of her attempts from 3-point range, grabbed seven rebounds, handed out three assists, blocked two shots and made a steal.
 
Drake struggled through a shaky first quarter, committing eight turnovers, missing layups and going 0-for-3 from deep. Illinois State, meanwhile, rained in six 3-pointers in 10 tries in building a 22-11 lead before Courtney Becker's bucket inside cut the lead the nine heading into the second quarter.
 
The Bulldogs settled down after the quarter break and Grace Berg's three straight baskets – a baseline drive, a follow-up and a layup on a pass from Miller – give Drake its first lead at 29-28.
 
Bair then fed Miller for a basket inside and Sara Beth Gueldner knocked down a 3 to cap an 11-0 run that made it 34-28.
 
The Bulldogs never trailed again.
 
Drake led 38-30 at the half and went up 54-38 with a 9-1 run that Taylor McAulay capped with a 3-pointer. The Bulldogs held Illinois State to 33 percent shooting in the third quarter and took a 61-46 lead into the final period with a deft mixture of 3-point shooting and inside play.
 
After breaking the press, McAulay fired a bounce pass through traffic to Miller for a layup to stretch the lead to 20 at 76-56 and the Bulldogs twice led by as many as 21 down the stretch. McAulay finished with six assists and eight points, getting her final assist when she went to the floor and flipped the ball to Ashley Iiams for a layup.
 
Illinois State made just 3 of its last 15 3-point shots after its fast start and shot 41.5 percent overall. The Redbirds were 1-for-11 from distance while Drake was taking control during the middle two quarters.
 
The Bulldogs, who have won four of their last five, hit the road for their next two games – Thursday, Feb. 23 at Murray State and Saturday, Feb. 25 at Belmont. Drake defeated both teams at home.
 
Drake's 11 conference victories all have come by at least 12 points. The Bulldogs average victory margin in those wins is 23.4 points.
 
"It felt really good after that first quarter," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said after the Bulldogs' upset win. "We worked through a few things and just figured it out. That Redbird team is really, really good and they came out on fire. [It was great] to weather that storm and stick with it…I'm just so proud of this group, they just bought in. They were in tune, they were present, just convicted in everything we did today."
 
Drake will be back on the floor next week when they visit Murray State on Feb. 23 and Belmont on Feb. 25 for their final road trip of the 2022-23 regular season.
 
 
TEAM NOTES

• Drake, winning its second straight game, improved its record to 16-8 including an 11-5 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• This also marked Drake's fifth straight home win, while improving its record in the Knapp Center this season to 10-2 including a 7-1 mark in league games.
• Drake has won all 11 of its MVC games by at least 12 points.
• Drake shot 50.8 percent (31-61), improving its record to 8-1 when shooting over 50 percent from the floor this season, including 5-0 at home.
• The 83 points were the most Illinois State allowed this season and it also was the worst loss the Redbirds suffered this season.
• Drake out rebounded Illinois State, 44-25, improving to 15-5 when out rebounding opponents this season.
• The Bulldogs improved to 14-2 when scoring 80 or more points.
• Drake collected 21 assists, marking the 12th time the Bulldogs have collected 20 or more assists in a game this season.
• Drake, which leads the NCAA in defensive rebounds per game at 33.0, had 31 defensive rebounds.
• Drake improved its record to 15-4 when leading at halftime this season.

 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Sophomore Anna Miller, making her first start of the season and just her third start in her collegiate career, led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points, including 11 in the first half. She had a career high 19 points in the Dec. 30, 2022, meeting in Normal, Ill.
• Senior forward Grace Berg scored 17 points, to move into No. 3on the Drake career scoring list with 1,132 points surpassing Linda Sayavongchanh who scored 1,129 points from 2002-06.
• Senior forward Maggie Bair had 14 points and 14 rebounds to record her ninth double-double of the season (second straight; second against Illinois State and 17th overall in career). It also marked her ninth double-figure rebounding game this season.
• Sophomore guard Katie Dinnebier added 13 points, six assists and two steals.

 
THE SERIES

• Drake, beating Illinois State for the 17th time in the last 21 meetings, improved its record against the Redbirds to 50-39.
• The Bulldogs, winning their ninth straight home game against Illinois State dating back to 2014, moved to 27-13 against the Redbirds in games played in Des Moines.