The Basics
The Drake women's basketball team is hosting Bradley on Thursday, Feb. 8 for an evening matchup before welcoming Illinois State to town for a chance at retribution. This weekend's games will close both regular season series.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
The Bulldogs are 16-5 on the season and 9-1 in conference play. Their high-level play has earned them the top spot in the MVC standings midway through the league schedule. Most recently, Drake traveled to Cedar Falls for a rivalry game against the UNI Panthers. The Bulldogs went into the high-pressure environment and secured a 79-71 win.
Katie Dinnebier was the catalyst of the Bulldog victory over UNI, as she dropped 19 points, hauled in 11 rebounds, and dished out 10 assists to notch her first career triple-double. Dinnebier's heroic efforts earned her the MVC Player of the Week award. On the season, Dinnebier averages a team-high 19.1 points and 6.3 assists per game.
Grace Berg is also a prolific scorer for the Bulldogs, averaging 17.3 points per game. Berg added 20 points to the winning effort against UNI on Saturday.
Anna Miller and
Taylor McAulay are the two other Bulldogs that average double figures, with the two averaging 12.1 and 10.5 points per game respectively.
Working the post, Miller averages 9.2 rebounds per game and
Courtney Becker averages 7 rebounds. Not only does Miller haul in nearly 10 rebounds per game, but she also leads the conference in blocks by a wide margin. Standing at six foot three, Miller has rejected 55 shots this season, 16 more than the second-highest total in the conference. Miller's 55 blocks average out to 2.6 blocks per game.
The Bulldogs'
Megan Meyer will also make her home debut this season after returning to the women's basketball program. She checked in to Drake's win over UNI and scored three points in her return.
Scouting Bradley
The Bradley Braves will enter the Knapp Center on Thursday with a 6-15 overall record and a 2-8 conference record. Despite the lackluster record, Bradley is coming to Des Moines off a win. On Saturday, Feb. 3, Bradley notched a 79-72 win against Evansville on the road. Their other conference victory came against Southern Illinois in January, where they won 58-56.
Bradley's leading scorers are Halli Poock and Alex Rouse. Poock leads Bradley with an average of 13.4 points per game. Poock, a freshman, has only started in seven games but played in all 21. Poock has made her presence known when she's on the court, shooting .361 from 3-point range on a team-high 119 attempts. Rouse averages 9.7 points per game and has started in all 21 games for the Braves.
Bradley's head coach is Kate Popovec-Goss. She is in her second year as head coach of the Braves. Popovec-Goss previously served various coaching roles at Northwestern before becoming a head coach for the first time at Bradley.
Drake holds a 68-18 all-time advantage over Bradley, dating back to 1984. Drake has won six in a row against the Braves heading into Thursday. The most recent Bradley victory came in 2021, with Bradley defeating Drake 78-70.
Scouting Illinois State
The Bulldogs will remain at home for their Pink Game against Illinois State on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. The Pink Game is presented by John Stoddard Cancer Center and played in support of those affected by cancer. Fans sitting in the lower bowl and the student section will be given a free pink shirt when they arrive at the game.
Illinois State is 14-6 overall and 7-3 in MVC play. The Redbirds took down Drake in their previous meeting this season in Normal by a 79-70 score. Illinois State will take on UNI in Cedar Falls on Thursday before traveling to Des Moines.
Veterans DeAnna Wilson and Maya Wong lead the Illinois State attack with 16.1 ppg and 12.4 ppg, respectively. Wilson is also the second-leading rebounder with 7.2 rpg behind Kate Bullman's 8.6 rpg. Bullman has been Illinois State's premier rim protector with 2.0 blocks per contest and is also the only player averaging 1.0+ steals. Wong leads the team with 4.1 assists per game.
Kristen Gillespie is in her 13th season as an NCAA head coach and seventh season leading the Redbirds. She has led Illinois State to a 124-76 record.
Drake leads the all-time series with Illinois State by a 51-40 margin. The Redbirds have won five of the last eight meetings. Drake is 27-13 all-time at home vs. Illinois State.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will gear up for their penultimate road trip of the season with games at Murray State on Thursday, Feb. 15 and Belmont on Saturday, Feb. 17.
