The Basics
The Drake University women's basketball team will continue a difficult stretch in MVC play as they travel to Murray State and Belmont over the weekend. The Bulldogs will take on Murray State on Thursday, Feb. 15 before hitting the Music City for a bout with the Bruins on Saturday, Feb. 17.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Drake enters the road trip with an 18-5 overall record and a league-leading 11-1 mark in Missouri Valley Conference action. The Bulldogs have put together another three-game winning streak after dropping their only league loss at Illinois State on Jan. 27. Drake has beaten UNI, Bradley, and the Redbirds in a rematch while scoring 70+ points in all three games.
The first-place Bulldogs are led by a quartet of double-digit scorers including
Katie Dinnebier (18.7 ppg),
Grace Berg (17.6 ppg),
Anna Miller (12.0), and
Taylor McAulay (10.0 ppg).
Courtney Becker, Drake's fifth starter, is close behind at 8.4 ppg. Dinnebier is also leads the team and the conference with 150 total assists, good enough for a 6.5 apg average, and 60 total steals, a 26 spg average.
Becker has been Drake's second-best rebounder, averaging 7.3 rpg, just behind starting center
Anna Miller. The Rochester, Minn. native anchors the Drake interior with 9.4 rpg and a league-high 60 blocks and 2.6 bpg average.
Scouting the Murray State
The Racers boast the league's top offense and records of 15-6 overall and 8-4 in MVC play. Murray State has won two matchups in a row as they went on the road to beat Southern Illinois (2/9) and Missouri State (2/11).
Katelyn Young paces the high-scoring Murray State offense with 18.4 points per game. Three more Racers log double figure points including Ava Learn (11.5 ppg), Haven Ford (10.8 ppg), and Hannah McKay (10.4 ppg). Young also leads the team's rebounding effort with 7.6 rpg followed by McKay's 6.4.
Rechelle Turner is in her seventh season at the helm of her alma mater. She has led the Racers to a 106-95 record during her tenure.
Drake and Murray State have met only once in their history with two matchups last season and one earlier this season. The Bulldogs have won all three meetings including a 107-98 result in Des Moines last month.
Scouting the Belmont
The Belmont Bruins trail only Drake in the MVC standings with a 10-2 league record and a 17-6 overall mark. The Bruins got back on track in their most recent matchup with a win at SIU (2/11) after falling at Missouri State (2/9). Prior to that loss, Belmont won four-straight games after losing in Des Moines.
Belmont also plays multiple double-digit scorers led by Jailyn Banks with 13.1 ppg. Tessa Miller scores 12.7 ppg whike Kendal Cheesman and Tuti Jones record 10.8 ppg and 10.0 ppg, respectively. Miller and Cheesman top the Belmont roster on the glass with 6.4 rebounds per game. Jones and Banks each dish out 3+ assists per game while the former is the only Bruin to snag multiple steals per contest.
The Bruins also have a seventh-year head coach monitoring the squad. Bart Brooks has posted a 163-52 record during his tenure in Nashville.
The Bulldogs and Bruins do not share a deep history, but Drake still leads that all-time series, 3-1. Belmont's only win came in Nashville last season.
Up Next
Drake will start a four-game home stretch next weekend with two important contests. The Bulldogs will host Missouri State on Thursday, Feb. 22 before welcoming rival UNI to Des Moines for a Blue Out on Sunday, Feb. 25.
