The Basics
Drake women's basketball returns to the friendly confines of the Knapp Center for their third-annual Des Moines' Hometown Team Weekend. The Bulldogs are set for two massive matchups against the two other teams tied atop the MVC standings. Drake will host Belmont on Friday, Jan. 19 and Murray State on Sunday, Jan. 21.
 
Des Moines' Hometown Team Weekend
This weekend's games will be included in the third-annual Des Moines' Hometown Team Weekend. The Bulldog men and women will also host their Alumni Weekend festivities on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
 
Both Bulldog teams will also be wearing their Des Moines branded uniforms with the city's skyline featured.

Bulldogs by the Numbers
Drake enters the weekend with an overall record of 12-4 and an undefeated 5-0 mark in MVC play. The Bulldogs' league record signifies their best start to a conference schedule since the 2018-19 season. Drake checked in at No. 9 in the most recent CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25.
 
Junior guard Katie Dinnebier leads the Bulldogs in multiple categories including scoring (19.1 ppg), field goal percentage (.585), three-point percentage (.444), free throw percentage (.900), assists (100), assists per game (6.3 apg), steals (47), steals per game (2.9), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.79). Dinnebier is closing in on a major career milestone with 965 career points. She is just 35 points shy of becoming the 36th player in Drake women's basketball history to log at least 1,000 points over a career.
 
Three other Bulldog players average double-figure points including Grace Berg at 16.8 ppg, Anna Miller at 11.4 ppg, and Taylor McAulay at 11.1 ppg. Miller also leads the Bulldogs' rebounding effort with 9.3 boards per contest along with a league-best 2.3 blocks per game.
 
Scouting Belmont
The Bruins of Belmont will take on Drake on Friday, Jan. 19 in a rematch of last season's MVC Tournament championship game. The Bruins currently hold identical records to Drake of 12-4 overall and 5-0 in league play. Belmont is riding a five-game winning streak with a dramatic road win at Indiana State in their last time out (1/14).
 
Belmont boasts a foursome of double-digit scorers led by Tessa Miller's 13.1 ppg. Jailyn Banks (12.7 ppg), Tuti Jones (10.8 ppg), and Kendal Cheesman (10.3 ppg). Miller's output comes on an incredibly efficient .549 field goal percentage while Cheesman's .436 three-point percentage tops the Bruins' roster.
 
Cheesman is also the team's leading rebounder at 6.5 rpg followed by Miller and Kilyn McGuff, both also above the half-dozen rebound threshold. Jones has been the premier perimeter player with a team-high 3.9 assists per game and 2.4 steals per game.
 
Belmont is led by head coach Bart Brooks in his seventh season at the helm of the women's hoops program. Brooks has led the Bruins to an impressive 158-50 record in his seven years.
 
Drake leads the all-time series by a 2-1 margin with all three meetings coming last year. Both teams won in their respective home arenas while Drake gained the slight advantage in the MVC Tournament title game.
 
Scouting Murray State
Murray State is also unbeaten in MVC player with a 5-0 record of their own. The Racers have two fewer losses, though, with a 12-2 mark overall. Murray State has won 11-straight games with their last loss coming on Nov. 17 at Indiana. The Racers will take on UNI in Cedar Falls on Friday, Jan. 19 before visiting Des Moines on Sunday.
 
The Racers have been the most prolific offense in the entire nation with an average of 92.3 points per game. Individually, Katelyn Young leads the team with 18.6 ppg. Ava Learn scores 12.4 ppg while Hannah McKay adds 11.2 ppg and Zoe Stewart rounds out the Racers' double-digit scorers with 10.9 ppg. Young also tops Murray State's rebounding effort with 7.9 boards per game.
 
Guard Bria Sanders-Woods dishes out 4.5 assists per game while Cayson Conner snares 1.7 steals a game.
 
Murray State's Rechelle Turner is also in her seventh season as a head coach with a 103-91 record at her alma mater.
 
Drake swept both of last season's meetings with the Racers and lead the all-time series 2-0.

Up Next
Drake will start a three-game road stretch with a weekend trip to central Illinois. The Bulldogs will visit Bradley on Thursday, Jan. 25 before taking on Illinois State on Saturday, Jan. 27.