The Basics
Drake women's basketball will look to get back on track with a pair of home contests against Ohio Valley Conference foes on deck. The Bulldogs will host their annual Character Counts! Day game on Dec. 3 against Lindenwood before welcoming Western Illinois to the Knapp Center on Dec. 7.
Bulldog Breakdown
The Bulldogs are currently riding a 5-game losing streak, matching their longest such drought of last season. In 2024-25, Drake similarly dropped games to Creighton, Iowa, Iowa State, and its first two in San Juan. Despite its 5-game losing streak, Drake's offense has found a rhythm in the second half with 205 total points netted in the third and fourth quarters of their last five matchups
Drake recently wrapped play at the Music City Classic in Nashville with losses to Arkansas and Northern Kentucky. Since 2000, Drake women's basketball is now 28-21 overall in games played at neutral site multi-team events.
The Bulldogs rank third in The Valley with an assist-to-turnover ratio of .97. Drake leads the league with an average of 18.2 assists per game. Ava Hawthorn and
Peyton McCabe both rank among the top seven distributors in the MVC with upwards of four assists per game.
Drake is currently second in the MVC with a rebounding margin of 3.8, behind only Illinois State.
Bulldog Leaders
Abbie Aalsma | 14.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.0 spg
Grace Knutson | 12.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.5 apg
Anna Becker | 10.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.7 apg
Scouting Lindenwood
The Lions enter the week at 6-2 overall and wins in five of their last six matchups. Most recently, Lindenwood went 2-1 at the American Savings Bank Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Hawaii. The Lions opened that trip with a loss to Santa Clara before beating Hawaii and Vermont.
Drake has won the only previous meeting between the two teams with an 87-60 result in 2022.
Lindenwood is led by head Amy Eagan in her third season as a Lion. Eagan has built a record of 390-186 overall in her 17-year head coaching career and has led the Lions to a 36-34 mark.
Key Players
Aleshia Jones | 15.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.5 apg
Ellie Brueggemann | 13.5 ppg, 4.1 apg, 2.4 rpg
Brooke Coffey | 12.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 3.5 apg
Scouting Western Illinois
Western Illinois has earned a record of 4-1 so far this season with wins in its first three games and a loss at Iowa in its most recent. The Leathernecks will be hosting St. Francis in their own Kids' Day game before visiting Des Moines this weekend.
The Bulldogs have dominated WIU in the all-time series between the two teams, 25-1. Western Illinois' lone win came in 1992. The Bulldogs won the most recent matchup by a 94-75 margin in 2019.
JD Gravina is in his 15th season at Western Illinois with a 219-211 record to his credit during that tenure. Gravina has made two previous stops at Quincy and McPherson with a total career mark of 333-272 over 21 seasons.
Key Players
Mia Nicastro | 25.0 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.2 spg
Raegan McCowan | 16.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.6 apg
Addie Brownfield | 10.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.0 apg
Up Next
The Bulldogs will embark on a 2-game road swing with a trip to St. Thomas (Dec. 13)
and MVC-opening voyage to Indiana State (Dec. 17).
