PEORIA, Ill. – Drake women's basketball (15-4, 8-0) added another win to their streak with a 77-65 victory over Bradley (5-14, 1-7) in Peoria this evening. The Bulldogs got 29 points from Katie Dinnebier as the junior guard etched her name in the program's record book and Drake picked up its ninth win in a row.
 
"Overall, I was really pleased with our energy to start the game and our rebounding effort on the glass," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said, "Both were huge for us. There were a few moments where I thought about taking a timeout, but we decided to try and grow through [those moments] and it paid off…we eventually got momentum back on our side."
 
Grace Berg nearly got the scoring started in dramatic fashion as she rolled in a floater after the shot clock expired on the opening possession. The Bulldogs' second trip down the floor looked much more familiar as Taylor McAulay buried three in transition. Courtney Becker joined the party with another quick deuce as Drake opened 5-0 lead that prompted an early Bradley timeout.
 
Bradley finally broke its scoring drought on an Armoni Strozier bucket after a pair of Katie Dinnebier free throws, her first two points of the evening. Dinnebier went on to score 12 first-quarter points, enough to put her over the 1,000-point mark for her career. She is the 36th player in program history to accomplish that feat.
 
McAulay eventually swished her second three-ball of the night on a picture-perfect possession as Drake extended its lead to 20-10. She was matched by Dinnebier with her second trey of the game just one trip later.
 
The Braves were able to sink back-to-back midrange jumpers to trim the deficit to single digits, but Drake shot the lights out in the opening period – literally – as a bank of lights in Bradley's Renaissance Center went out during play. Drake went 10-of-16 in the first ten minutes and carried a 27-18 lead after one.
 
The Bulldogs struggled to pull away in the first portion of the second quarter as Bradley hung around. Shannon Fornshell eventually gave Drake its largest lead of the first half at 45-28 with a three from the top of the key. Bradley's Reagan Barkema answered with a triple of her own to settle on a 45-31 Bulldog advantage at the half.
 
The Bulldogs stumbled out of the gate to start the second half as Strozier led a short run to cut the Drake lead down to just eight. Dinnebier eventually stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws for the Dogs' first points of the second half. Dinnebier continued to carry the Bulldogs through the third, burying a pull-up triple in transition to jump over the 20-point mark in the contest.
 
Drake weathered the storm and went on to expand their lead again as the third quarter progressed. Grace Berg scored the period's final bucket to reach double figures on the night and update the Bulldogs' largest lead to 64-45.
 
The outcome seemed to be in control as the fourth quarter got underway, but Bradley's Halli Poock had different ideas. The Waterloo, Iowa native canned a two three-pointers in three possessions to keep the Braves' comeback hopes alive.
 
With just under 4:30 to play, Dinnebier provided an old fashioned three-point play. The Bulldogs needed her spark as Bradley again mounted a rally and got within 11. A Grace Berg freebie marked the final tally as Drake earned the 77-65 triumph to keep their winning streak alive.
 
"[All games] are big and now we have to get refreshed, recovered and fired up to take on Illinois State." Pohlman added.
 
Drake will continue its three-game road swing on Saturday with a trip to Normal, Ill. and a date with rival Illinois State. The Bulldogs and Redbirds will square off from CEFCU Arena at 4 p.m.
 
 
NOTES
 

• Drake won its ninth-straight game – the most during the Allison Pohlman coaching era – to push its record to 15-4 overall and 8-0 in the MVC.
• The Bulldogs earned their fifth-straight home win and are now 6-2 away from home this season.
• Drake never trailed in the game.
• Drake, which led 45-31 at half, improved to 14-1 when leading at halftime this season. 
• Drake is now 4-0 when playing on Thursday this season.
• Katie Dinnebier logged her ninth 20+ scoring game of the season, while dishing out a team-high five assists. 
• Dinnebier also made history in the first period when she became the 36th player in program history to score over 1,000 points in their career.
• Anna Miller logged another double-double, her seventh of the season, with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
• Miller set a new season-high with five blocks.
• Grace Berg rounded out Drake's scoring leaders with 12 points and added a half dozen boards.
• Taylor McAulay had seven points and seven rebounds.
• The Bulldogs improved to 68-18 all-time vs. Bradley and won their sixth-straight against the Braves.