ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Drake women's basketball team overcame an underwhelming opening quarter to speed by St. Thomas in the Twin Cities on Saturday afternoon. Drake's 92-81 win was its fourth consecutive victory and punctuated a 6-5 non-Missouri Valley Conference record.
 
Katie Dinnebier got the Bulldogs (6-5) on the board with an all-net 3-pointer to answer a deuce by the Tommies in the first two possessions. The teams went back-and-forth over the next few minutes until another Dinnebier triple made it 12-4 in favor of Drake and forced long-time UST head coach Ruth Sinn to take an early timeout.
 
The Tommies (7-5) turned things around completely after the pause, scoring 14 unanswered points and regaining the lead. St. Thomas carried their momentum through the remainder of the opening period, building a 10-point lead of 24-14 after one.
 
Dinnebier, who hit double-figures in the first quarter, continued her successful offensive outing in the second with two straight scores inside on a pair of baseline out-of-bounds plays. The Dogs continued their short spurt with a putback bunny by Anna Miller, one of three native Minnesotans on the Bulldogs' roster returning to her home state, trimmed the Tommie lead to just six points. That score forced Sinn to burn another UST timeout.
 
Abbie Aalsma eventually evened the tally at 28 apiece to cap an 8-0 Bulldog rally. The Tommies kept pace, but another interior Miller score gave Drake a brief 32-20 advantage. Drake outscored St. Thomas 26-15 in the second quarter to take a narrow 40-39 lead into the half.
 
Drake got just its third 3-pointer of the game to start their second-half scoring as Courtney Becker splashed from the top of the key. Shannon Fornshell, another of Drake's Minnesota products, scored twice in the paint before another Dinnebier triple extended the Drake lead to seven and prompt another UST timeout.
 
Dinnebier again hit from deep moments later before banking in a driving hesitation layup to put the Dogs up by 10, their largest lead of the game up to that point. Drake's push stalled a bit as the third quarter wound to a close. Some inopportune giveaways and defensive lapses allowed the Tommies to chip away at the Bulldogs' advantage. As the third quarter clock ticked near zero, Dinnebier was fouled on a last-second heave from just across the halfcourt stripe. She hit one of three tries, but Drake still led 65-58 after three periods.
 
Ava Hawthorne, one of two Drake players to flirt with foul trouble and collect their fourth personal foul down the stretch, got into the scoring column with two free throws and a transition triple to help maintain the Bulldogs' cushion. The Tommies were able to track down Drake a bit and get the difference back into single digits, but the Bulldogs closed it out at the charity stripe and earned the 92-81 win.
 
"I'm really impressed," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. "We got a really good game from St. Thomas, so we need to do a better job of making things tough, but they made plays and made baskets. I thought we did a phenomenal job. The first quarter was a little lopsided, but then we got 12 layups in the second quarter. It was great to see us figure it out and navigate our way through."
 
Katie Dinnebier led Drake with 32 points and 10 assists, marking her fifth career 30-point effort and ninth career double-double. Anna Miller also logged a double-double with 22 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Shannon Fornshell scored 15 points, a new career best, while Courtney Becker added 11.
Next up, Drake will tip off their MVC schedule with a trip to Evansville on Dec. 29. The Bulldogs and Purple Aces will play the first game of a men's and women's doubleheader in the Ford Center, the site for the 2025 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament.
 
 
NOTES

• Drake won its fourth straight game and improved to 6-5.
• The Bulldogs are now 2-0 all-time against St. Thomas.
• Drake scored 90+ points for the second time this season.
• Drake won the rebounding battle, 32-20.
• The Dogs outscored St. Thomas 56-36 in the paint, 23-20 after turnovers, and 19-8 in fast break opportunities.
• Drake shot .621 from the field, good enough for the seventh-best single-game field goal percentage in team history.
• Three Bulldogs (Anna Miller, Shannon Fornshell, Emily Christenson) returned to their home state of Minnesota for Saturday's contest.
• Guard Katie Dinnebier notched 32 points and dished out 10 assists.
• Dinnebier's scoring total marked her fifth career 30-point game and third of the season.
• It was also Dinnebier's ninth career double-double and second in the last three games.
• Shannon Fornshell's 15 points marked a new career high.
• Anna Miller also completed another double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
• Dinnebier and Miller also led the team with three steals apiece.
• Abbie Aalsma and Ava Hawthorne rounded out Drake's offensive output with six points each.
• Drake will hit the tip off their MVC schedule with a trip to Evansville on Dec. 29.