DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake women's basketball team hit Indiana State with one big run after another in rolling past the Sycamores 77-47 at the Knapp Center on Thursday night.
 
The Bulldogs (9-4, 2-0) scored the game's first 11 points and followed that early burst with runs of 16-0 and 13-3 to open their biggest halftime lead of the season. The lead grew to as large as 32 in the second half, allowing Suzy Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman to give her top two units ample playing time.
 
Eleven players got into the game and 10 of them scored, including nine in the first half.
 
Grace Berg triggered the game-opening run with two assists, a three-pointer and a layup and went on to finish with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Katie Dinnebier also scored 14 to go with five assists and three steals. Courtney Becker recorded her fourth career double-double and second of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds, which matched her season high.
 
The early runs produced a 47-18 halftime lead and players continued shuffling in and out of the game as Drake beat the Sycamores for the 13th time in the last 14 meetings. Indiana State's 47 points were a season low for a Drake opponent and the fewest this season for the Sycamores (5-7, 1-1), who are playing under interim Deidra Johnson in the absence of head coach Chad Killinger. Killinger has been out because of a medical issue.
 
Berg fed Taylor McAulay and Anna Miller for layups to start things off, sparking the Bulldogs to that 11-0 lead a little more than 4 minutes into the game. Indiana State missed its first nine shots, then hit five in a row to cut the lead to 11-10 late in the first quarter.
 
But the Bulldogs quickly regained their footing. They finished the quarter with six-straight points, then scored the first 10 points of the second quarter to open a 27-10 lead, Anna Brown and Ashley Iiams highlighting the run with three-pointers.
 
Drake was leading 33-15 when Berg buried a trey to start yet another run. Brooklyn Dailey and Shannon Fornshell followed with layups and Dinnebier stole the ball and took it in for a deuce as the Bulldogs outscored the Sycamores 13-3 over the final 3 minutes of the half to go up by 28.
 
Becker made layups 24 seconds apart, the second on a fastbreak pass from Dinnebier, to stretch the lead to 50-20 early in the second half. The lead grew to 32 for the first time when Fornshell slipped a pass to Berg for a layup with four seconds left in the third quarter, making it 64-32.
 
Berg and Dinnebier took a seat for good early in the fourth quarter and watched their teammates finish up another double-digit victory. All nine of the Bulldogs' victories this season and 30 of the last 34 have been decided by double-figure margins.
 
Drake held Indiana State to 26 percent shooting (17-for-65) and outrebounded the Sycamores 53-37. The 53 rebounds were a season best for the Bulldogs, who shared the ball throughout the game and finished with assists on 21 of their 28 baskets. They also came up with 12 steals in forcing 17 turnovers.
 
Miller finished with seven points and 12 rebounds and blocked three shots to move her past former teammate Maggie Bair into fourth place on the school's career list with 154.
 
Asia Donald scored nine points and Chloe Williams had seven to lead Indiana State, which played the fourth of five straight road games.
 
"I think we had a really good start," Pohlman said. "Grace Berg was fantastic for getting into that start…she has such an impact on the game. We saw a lull in the third quarter, that would be the only segment I'd like to get back, but otherwise we did a really nice job with the details and making adjustments."
 
Drake will remain at home for its next game, Saturday at 2 p.m. against Evansville.
 
 
NOTES

• Drake, earning its third-straight victory, improved its record to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• The 47 points by Indiana State were a season low, and also a season low by a Drake opponent.
• 30 of Drake's last 34 wins have been in double-figures including all nine victories during the 2023-24 campaign.
• Drake, which ranks 11th in the NCAA and leads the MVC in field goal percentage (.495), shot 44.4 percent (28-63) from the floor, ending a string of four-straight games in which the Bulldogs had shot 50 percent or better in a game this season.
• Drake had a season-high 53 rebounds while outrebounding the Sycamores 53-37.
• Anna Miller grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
• Miller also blocked three shots to move into fourth on Drake's career blocked shots list at 154, passing Maggie Bair (2019-23, 152). It marked the fifth time this season Miller blocked three or more shots in a game.
• Katie Dinnebier had 14 points along with a game-high five assists and three steals. It marked the eighth game this season in which Dinnebier collected three or more takeaways.
• Grace Berg also had 14 points while collecting five rebounds, four assists, and a season-high two steals.
• Courtney Becker enjoyed her fourth-career double-double, and second this season, with 11 points and 10 boards.
• Drake, winning its third-straight game against the Sycamores, improved its series record against Indiana State to 64-24 including a 37-6 mark in games played in Des Moines.