DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's basketball team fought through a slow start on Senior Day to roll past Southern Illinois in the regular season finale, 91-68. Drake (19-9, 14-6) scored 20+ points in all four quarters to rout the Salukis. With their win, the Bulldogs secured a bye in the first round of the MVC Tournament next weekend.
 
Two Bulldog individuals also eclipsed the 20-point mark as senior forward Maggie Bair led the team with 25 and Anna Miller added a career-high 21. Miller also snagged 11 rebounds to lead all players and record her third double-double of the season.
 
Three other Drake players scored double figures including Grace Berg with 12, and Katie Dinnebier and Courtney Becker with 11. Dinnebier led the team with six assists while Becker added seven rebounds.
 
Saturday's game started in a similar fashion to the Bulldogs' tilt at Southern Illinois in January. The Salukis jumped out to an 11-4 lead behind a 6-0 run.
 
Drake cut into SIU's early lead with four-straight free throws from Maggie Bair and Taylor McAulay before grabbing their first lead of the day on a Bair bucket in transition. Bair led all scorers with 10 points but, along with Grace Berg, found herself in foul trouble with two infractions. Drake led SIU 20-16 after the first 10 minutes.
 
Midway through the second period, Anna Miller banked one in to give the Bulldogs a 32-22 lead, their largest of the game up to that point. Later in the period, Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman was forced to alter her rotation as Bair picked up her third foul with just under four minutes to play in the half.
 
Drake was able to match the Salukis' physicality in the second quarter and a lead as large as 14. Anna Miller and Courtney Becker combined for 12 rebounds in the first half as the Bulldogs led 43-32 at the break.
 
The Bulldogs used 66.7 percent shooting from the field and nearly 43 percent shooting from three-point territory to pull away from Southern Illinois in the third quarter. Maggie
Bair reached the 20-point mark as Anna Miller hit double figures in points and rebounds to log her third double-double of the season.
 
SIU buried a pair of triples early in the fourth quarter but could not mount a rally to challenge the Bulldogs as Drake cruised to the 91-68 victory.
 
"It was a really fun game today, so proud of our team and proud that we were able to send our seniors off like that," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said after the game. "Our senior leadership should shine in every game, and it does, but it was really special that we were able to be able to build momentum in that way with the seniors' last game in mind."
 
The Drake women's basketball team now will begin postseason play. The Bulldogs' will travel to Moline, Ill. for the Hoops in the Heartland MVC Women's Basketball Tournament from Mar. 9-12. The Bulldogs will enter the MVC Tournament as the No. 4 seed and receive a bye in the first round. Drake will take on the winner of the Missouri State/Bradley game on Friday, Mar. 10 at 2:30 p.m.
 
 
TEAM NOTES

• Drake finished the regular season with two-straight wins and improved its record to 19-9 including an 14-6 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Drake has won all 14 of its MVC games by at least 12 points.
• All 12 Bulldog players checked in to the game.
• Drake shot 53.6 percent from the field (30-56), improving its record to 11-1 when shooting over 50 percent from the floor this season.
• Drake out rebounded Missouri State, 39-27, improving to 18-6 when out rebounding opponents this season.
• The Bulldogs improved to 17-2 when scoring 80 or more points and 4-0 when scoring 90+.
• Drake went 25-of-33 from the charity stripe, their second-most free throw attempts in a game this season.
• Drake improved its record to 18-4 when leading at halftime this season.
• Drake is now 2-0 in the month of March and 6-3 in games played on a Saturday.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Maggie Bair made multiple three-pointers for the fourth-straight game, the longest such streak of her career.
• Bair led all scorers with 25 points.
• Anna Miller scored a career-high 21 points and a team-high 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
• Grace Berg added 12 points.
• Courtney Becker career high in free throws with seven makes and free throw attempts with 12 tries.
• Becker also scored double digits with 11 points.
• Katie Dinnebier also logged 11 points and matched Taylor McAulay with a team-high seven assists.

THE SERIES

• Drake now leads the all-time series with SIU by a 67-30 margin.
• The Bulldogs have won the last two meetings and 14 of the last 16 matchups.