The Basics
Drake is back home this weekend and will square off against rival UNI on Saturday for the first of three straight matchups in the Knapp Center. The Bulldogs and Panthers will tip things off at 2 p.m. on Drake's annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration.
 
Bulldog Bites
Drake split its last two contests on the road. The Bulldogs suffered their third consecutive loss in their final MVC trip to Missouri State before blitzing Southern Illinois in Carbondale
 
Katie Dinnebier has been one of the nation's top distributors this season. She ranks second in the NCAA in total assists with 148 and is tied for the NCAA lead with 7.4 assists per game. She also ranks 50th in the nation with a 2.1 assist/turnover ratio. Dinnebier was recently named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Midseason Watch List for the second straight year. She was a finalist for the award in 2023-24.
 
Dinnebier leads the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring. She is the only player averaging 20-plus points per game with 20.4. She is also the only guard in The Valley to shoot at a 50-plus percent clip from the field. She is currently sixth in the league with a field goal percentage of .506.
 
Guards Katie Dinnebier and Abbie Aalsma have been a dynamic duo from deep range this season. Both sharpshooters are ranked in the top six of MVC hoops in 3-point percentage with marks of .413 and .406, respectively.
 
Anna Miller's control of the Bulldogs' all-time blocks record has gotten even stronger. The senior forward currently has 259 career rejections. Miller leads The Valley and is 12th in the NCAA with 46 total blocks, and her average of 2.3 blocks per game is also slotted 15th nationally. Miller also now has 901 career rebounds.  She is just the 10th player in program history to secure at least 900 rebounds in her career.
 
Miller and Courtney Becker have led the Bulldogs rebounding effort to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference stat sheet this year. Those two are among the top six rebounders in the league and pace Drake's MVC-best 812 total boards and 9.2 rebounding margin.

Bulldog Leaders
Katie Dinnebier | 20.4 ppg, 7.4 apg, 4.5 rpg
Anna Miller | 14.9 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.3 bpg
Courtney Becker | 9.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.8 apg

Scouting UNI
UNI is currently 10-10 overall and 5-4 in Missouri Valley Conference play this season. The Panthers have lost three of their last four contests with their only win coming at Southern Illinois. UNI suffered a key loss when veteran forward Grace Boffeli went down with a significant injury in mid-November, but the trio of Maya McDermott, Kayba Laube, and Ryley Goebel have been stellar in her absence.
 
Long time head coach Tanya Warren, who coached Drake's Allison Pohlman during her playing career, has led the Panthers to a 332-237 record over her 18-year tenure.
 
Drake leads 73-27 in its all-time series with Northern Iowa. The Bulldogs have won the last three matchups including an overtime result in last year's MVC Tournament semifinals. Drake is a staggering 40-9 all-time when playing UNI at home.  

Panther Leaders
Maya McDermott | 19.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.8 apg
Kayba Laube | 13.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.2 apg
Ryley Goebel | 10.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.2 bpg

Up Next
Drake will host Illinois State (Feb. 7) and Bradley (Feb. 9) as part of the Bulldogs' annual Des Moines' Hometown Team Weekend.