DES MOINES, Iowa – Two scoring bursts and Belmont's aggressive defense brought an end to the nine-game winning streak for Drake women's basketball on Thursday evening. Belmont took control with a torrid stretch of shooting in the second quarter, then built on its lead in the second half and beat Drake 80-65 at the Knapp Center on Thursday night, handing the Bulldogs their first loss in Missouri Valley Conference play.
 
Katie Dinnebier and Anna Miller each scored 21 points for Drake (11-6, 5-1), but the Bulldogs couldn't find enough scoring elsewhere and lost for the first time since falling to Green Bay 64-59 on Nov. 29.
 
Dinnebier, who has received the last five MVC Player of the Week awards, filled out her line with seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Belmont did a good job clogging the middle, but Dinnebier still found enough openings to make 8-of-13 shots and hit three 3-pointers.
 
Miller shot 7-for-12 and added four rebounds and five assists. Courtney Becker finished with nine points and five rebounds, while Abbie Aalsma and Ava Hawthorne each scored five.
 
Both teams shot the ball at a similar clip – 46.9 percent for the Bruins, 46.3 percent for Drake – but Belmont knocked down 10 3-pointers while the Bulldogs went just 6-for-25 from deep. Belmont had a slim 33-32 rebounding margin, just the third time the Bulldogs have been outrebounded this season, and forced 17 Drake turnovers.
 
Belmont has held its opponents below 67 points in all 10 of its victories. The 65 points were a season low for Drake in Valley play.
 
Tuti Jones, a quick guard from Troy, Ala., led the Bruins (10-7, 5-1) with 22 points and four steals and hit four 3-pointers, including two in the second quarter run that put her team ahead to stay.
 
Dinnebier had a hand in Drake's first five baskets as the Bulldogs opened a 13-10 lead. She hit Miller for a layup in transition, found Shannon Fornshell for a layup, then scored the next three Bulldog baskets herself, all by driving the ball to the hoop, to produce a tie at 10. Hawthorne broke it with a 3 from the right in front of the Belmont bench.
 
The lead changed hands 10 times in all in the first quarter, which ended with Drake leading 23-22.  Miller's two free throws produced a 28-28 tie 3:01 into the second quarter and then Belmond caught fire.
 
The Bruins made five straight shots – with Jones hitting two treys and a jumper -- in a 14-2 run that opened a 42-30 lead and they were up 44-36 at halftime. Belmont hit eight of its first nine shots in the quarter and shot 69.2 percent (9-for-13) in the 10-minute period.
 
A Jones 3-pointer put Belmont up 52-40 and the Bruins answered every time Drake threatened to make a run. Becker scored twice on layups to cut the lead to 52-44, but Belmont came back with five straight points. Becker's three-point play cut it to 57-47 and Dinnebier hit Hawthorne sprinting to the basket for a layup that drew the Bulldogs to 57-49.
 
That was as close as they would get the rest of the way. Belmont scored the final nine points of the quarter for a 66-49 lead and were ahead by double figures the rest of the way in handing Drake just its second loss at home this season.
"Our team feeds off having energy and we just weren't there tonight," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. "We came back in that first quarter and grabbed a little momentum and movement…they threw us off with their zone and [we] just didn't have the right people in the right spots. We didn't have [the team] ready tonight…[when you] step on the floor in the Missouri Valley Conference, and you better be ready to go."
 
Drake will try to rebound when Murray State, the league's highest-scoring team, visits the Knapp Center on Saturday. Tipoff time is 2 p.m.
 
 
NOTES

• Drake is now 11-6 overall and 5-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
• The loss snapped the Bulldogs' 19-game MVC winning streak (including postseason play) and 18-game MVC home winning streak.
• Drake's 65 points were its lowest in a Missouri Valley Conference game this season.
• The Bulldogs went just 6-for-25 from 3-point range on Thursday, their third worst 3-point outing of the year.
• Drake grabbed just six offensive rebounds, their lowest in a single game this season. They also matched their season low rebounding total with 32.
• Katie Dinnebier and Anna Miller both finished with 21 points to lead Drake's offensive effort.
• Dinnebier also dished out seven assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
• Miller was one of three Bulldogs to snare five boards.
• Courtney Becker added nine points as Drake's third leading scorer on Thursday.
• Abbie Aalsma and Ava Hawthorne each posted five points while Shannon Fornshell pitched in with four.
• Drake is now 4-1 all-time against the Bruins. Thursday's result marked the first home loss for Drake when playing Belmont.