DES MOINES, Iowa – If the exhibition victory over Dakota Wesleyan is any indication, senior Abbie Aalsma appears ready to take on a bigger role for the Drake University women's basketball team.
 
Aalsma, one of two returning starters for the Bulldogs, scored 19 points and showed some quick hands-on defense in a 77-57 win over Dakota Wesleyan at the Knapp Center on Tuesday night. She was the only Drake player who scored in double figures, but the Bulldogs got contributions throughout the lineup as Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman used a variety of combinations in the final tune-up for the regular season.
 
Aalsma, mostly a spot-up shooter last season, made 8-of-16 shots and got all but one of those field goals going to the basket. She came up with five steals and went the length of court for layups on three of them. On a fourth steal, she got fouled going to the basket and made both free throws. She also grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots.
 
All 11 healthy Drake players got into the game and 10 of them scored. Freshman Anna Becker was solid in her first game at the Knapp Center, putting up nine points, five rebounds and a steal. Sophomores Maggie Taylor and Grace Knutson and senior Ava Hawthorne also finished with nine points each. Taylor showed some aggressive around the basket, pulling down eight rebounds and blocking two shots. Hawthorne led the team with six assists.
 
Hawthorne, Knutson and Aalsma, three of the team's main ballhandlers, showed a willingness to drive to the basket, which the Bulldogs need following the graduation of star guard Katie Dinnebier, who watched the game as part of the radio crew.
 
Taylor's play in the post also will be important after the graduation of Anna Miller. She went 3-for-5 from the field and made all three of her free throws. The Bulldogs sank their first 18 foul shots and finished 19-for-20, which helped offset their 6-for-23 shooting from 3-point range. Drake shot 43 percent overall after missing its first five shots in the game and going 4 1/2 minutes before making its first field goal.
 
Dakota Wesleyan, ranked ninth in the preseason NAIA national rankings, took advantage of the Bulldogs' early struggles to open a 9-4 lead. But Drake closed the quarter with a 20-4 run and led the rest of the way.
 
After Drake built a 13-point lead, Dakota Wesleyan outscored the Bulldogs 11-4 to draw to 38-34 at halftime, then pulled to 40-37 on Emma Yost's trey early in the third quarter. Yost led the Tigers with 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting.
 
They got no closer. Taylor, a right-hander, scored inside with a slick left-handed layup, Knutson and Aalsma followed with 3-pointers and Drake led by double figures the rest of the way.
"I was really impressed by Bulldog nation coming out for an exhibition game on a rainy Tuesday night and this place was rocking," Pohlman said. "The first quarter you saw us get comfortable, little uncharacteristic in the second…told them to relax at half and then we were able to hit some more shots. Always nice to get some more reps, more practice in, and now we get to head to Eastern Illinois next week."

The Bulldogs, coming off a 22-12 season that ended the first round of the WBIT, open the new campaign next Monday, Nov. 3, at Eastern Illinois, with a tip-off time at high noon. Drake's home opener is Sunday, Nov. 9 against Creighton.
 

NOTES

• Trailing 9-4, Drake went on a 20-4 run to close out the first quarter to grab a 24-13 lead it never relinquished. After missing its first six shots to open the game Drake closed out the first period making seven of 12 shots.
• The Bulldogs shot 43.3 percent (26-60) from the floor, opening the second half by hitting 53.8 percent (7-13) in the third period.
• Drake outrebounded Dakota Wesleyan, 36-29.
• All 11 players who suited up for Drake played with 10 players scoring in the game.
• There was one tie and one lead change in the game.
• Senior guard Abbie Aalsma, one of two returning starters from last year's team, led Drake with 19 points, including 10 in the first half, along with five steals.
• Sophomore forward Maggie Taylor led the Bulldogs with a game-high eight rebounds while blocking two shots.
• Drake opens its 51st season of intercollegiate basketball traveling to Eastern Illinois on Monday. The Bulldogs own a 12-6 series record against the Panthers, having won the last three meetings.
• Dakota Wesleyan, ranked No. 9 in the NAIA preseason poll, opens the season playing Bismarck State Monday.