The Basics
The Bulldog women's basketball team has two more good chances to snap their skid with two straight road matchups. Drake is set for a trip to the Twin Cities for a date with St. Thomas (Dec. 13) before opening MVC play at Indiana State (Dec. 17).
Bulldog Breakdown
The Bulldogs are currently riding a 7-game losing streak, matching their longest such drought since dropping eight consecutive games in the 2006-07 season. Drake recently dropped a pair of home contests to Ohio Valley Conference foes Lindenwood and Western Illinois.
Drake is currently second in the MVC with a rebounding margin of 4.0, behind only Illinois State. The Bulldogs also temper their opponents' rebounding at the best rate, holding opposition to 34.1 rebounds per game.
The Bulldogs rank fourth in The Valley with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.90. Drake leads the league with an average of 16.5 assists per game.
Ava Hawthorne and
Peyton McCabe both rank among the top 10 distributors in the MVC 3.3 dishes per game and 3.8 assists per game, respectively.
Drake also ranks third in the MVC with a team field goal percentage of .417 and fourth in team free throw percentage of .709. The Bulldogs have made 196 field goals out of 470 attempts and 95 FTs in 134 shots.
Drake averages the fourth highest number of 3-pointers made per game in the MVC with 6.9 treys per contest.
Bulldog Leaders
Abbie Aalsma | 14.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.0 apg
Grace Knutson | 13.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.6 apg
Anna Becker | 8.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.5 apg
Scouting St. Thomas
St. Thomas has rebounded after getting off to a lackluster 1-6 start. The Tommies are now 5-6 on the year after winning their last four contests including a 112-23 crushing of Division III Crown College and 81-65 road W at Montana.
Drake has won the only two previous meetings between the Bulldogs and Tommies with a 2023 win in Des Moines and 2024 victory in St. Paul.
St. Thomas is led by long-time head coach Ruth Sinn, who has led the Tommies for 21 seasons. Sinn has accumulated a record of 411-162 between the Tommies' stints at the Division III and Division I levels.
Key Players
Alyssa Sand | 14.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.8 apg
Faith Feuerbach | 11.4 ppg, 2.5 apg, 2.1 rpg
Savannah McGowan | 9.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.5 apg
Scouting Indiana State
The Sycamores of Indiana State currently sit at an even .500 on the season. Indiana State has earned wins over Eastern Illinois, Western Kentucky, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, and Northern Illinois, but most recently dropped a 101-56 game at Butler.
Drake has owned a steep advantage in its all-time series with Indiana State. The Bulldogs lead the series 67-24 with wins in their last six meetings. The Sycamores will be seeking their first win over Drake since 2021, and the Dogs are hunting their eighth straight win in Terre Haute.
Marc Mitchell is in his second season as Indiana State's head coach. Mitchell has led the Sycamores to an 8-32 record but has the Trees moving in the right direction.
Key Players
Tierney Kelsey | 17.6 ppg, 3.1 apg, 2.3 rpg
Samiyah Briggs | 11.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 apg
Jayci Allen | 11.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.3 spg
Up Next
The Bulldogs will close their non-conference slate with a Dec. 21 matchup against Minnesota in the Knapp Center before returning to MVC play with a trip to Chicago for a date with UIC on Dec. 29.
