MURRAY, Ky. – The Drake women's hoops team relied on a balanced array of offensive attackers and a cohesive defensive unit to upend Murray State on the road on Thursday night. The Bulldogs never trailed in Murray and left the Bluegrass State with a 92-86 win.
 
Anna Miller cashed in for the first points of the game after both teams came up empty on the initial pair of possessions. Another Murray State miss led to a Shannon Fornshell bucket as the Bulldogs (16-8, 10-3) connected on a well-executed high-low action. Courtney Becker later splashed a 3-pointer from the wing, but Murray State's Halli Poock answered for the Racers' first points of the night.
 
Murray State's Ava Learn led their first-quarter effort with nine points in the first seven minutes, cutting Drake's early lead to four points midway through the quarter. Both squads were feeling the fast pace of the opening stanza as the media timeout did not come until 1:04 remaining in the quarter.
 
Drake kept its foot on the gas after the timeout and ended the first period on a Taedyn Gray buzzer-beating triple to extend its lead to 23-14.
 
The Racers continued to lean on Learn to chip into the Bulldogs' lead. The senior forward buried back-to-back threes to make it just a 3-point difference. Fornshell retaliated with a trey of her own on the other end of the court.
 
Murray State (15-7, 9-4) was whistled for its first foul of the night with roughly two and a half minutes left before halftime. That infraction led to a deep Katie Dinnebier trey, her first points of the evening. Dinnebier's make gave the Dogs a 10-point lead, their largest of the first half.
 
The Bulldogs had one final attempt at the end of the first half, but a Fornshell shot from range was stuffed by Learn and the horn sounded. Drake went into the break leading 40-35.
 
Momentum seemed to shift toward the Racers in the third period as Fornshell and Maggie Taylor were both flagged for their third personal fouls. Despite the foul issues, Drake was able to hold on to their respectable advantage for most of the third frame as Dinnebier got more involved offensively. She netted seven of the Bulldogs' first 12 points of the second half. Drake then flipped the momentum back in their favor with an Abbie Aalsma 3-pointer on a fast break, her third in as many attempts. Aalsma's long ball forced Murray State head coach Rechelle Turner to take a timeout as Drake's lead ballooned to 11.
 
The Bulldogs continued their run as Ava Hawthorne and Dinnebier both jumped into double figures. Drake scored 27 points in the third quarter and ended the frame on a 7-0 spurt to lead 67-51 overall.
 
The fourth quarter started sloppily as Drake's offense went quiet. Becker eventually got the Bulldogs back on the board after a nearly 3-minute scoring slump. Both offenses were then shocked back to life with five combined 3-pointers in six trips up-and-down the floor.
 
An Ava Learn triple and old fashioned 3-point play by guard Haven Ford got the Racers back within five points as the clock ticked under three minutes. The Bulldogs answered right away with four straight points in the paint from Miller and Becker. Katelyn Young and Ford then scored two straight baskets for the Racers to make it 89-84 in favor of the Bulldogs as the 60-second mark approached.
 
Aalsma coughed it up on Drake's ensuing possession which led to a Young putback to make it a 1-score difference with 33.2 seconds to play. Murray State used their three remaining fouls to give to extend the game as much as possible.
 
Miller added a free throw and Becker banked in a 2-pointer in the final moments as Drake held off Murray State for the 92-86 win to split the regular season series with the Racers.
 
"We were really able to stay in the moment and just made plays," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. "This is a really smart Drake basketball team, and they were able to figure things out and find a way to win today. We set the tone in the first quarter…our team was very resilient. We were able to couple scoring in the paint and make a statement with the type of shooting this team is capable of. So proud of us stepping on an opponent's floor who beat us earlier this year and exude that confidence."
 
Drake boasted five double-digit scorers including Katie Dinnebier (21), Abbie Aalsma (15), Ava Hawthorne (15), Courtney Becker (14), and Anna Miller (13). Dinnebier led the Dogs in scoring for the 12th time this season. Thursday also marked her 21st double-figure outing, and 17th game with multiple 3-pointers. Aalsma hit five three-point baskets, extending her streak to 13 straight games, making a three-point basket. She also tied a season high with one blocked shot. Hawthorne did her damage with seven makes in a career high 12 attempts. Becker enjoyed her 13th double-digit effort of the season. Miller recorded her ninth double-double of the season and tied her season best with five assists.
 
Shannon Fornshell narrowly missed the double-digit mark with nine points but tied her season high with a block and tied her career high with two steals. Reserve forward Taedyn Gray also tied a season high with a made trey and tied a career best with two assists.
 
Drake will now travel to Music City for a date with league-leading Belmont on Saturday afternoon. The Bruins' gap above the remainder of The Valley in the league standings was narrowed, however, as Belmont dropped a home matchup to UNI tonight. The Bulldogs and Bruins will tip it up in Nashville at 4 p.m.
 
 
NOTES

• Drake, winning its fifth straight game, improved to 16-8 overall, including a 10-3 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• This marks the 12th straight year Drake has won 15-plus games in a season.
• Drake scored 90-plus points for the fourth time this season.
• The Bulldogs converted 36 field goals in Murray, tying their single game high this season.
• Drake's .554 field goal percentage was their best in Valley play and second-best overall this season.
• Drake boasted five double-digit scorers including Katie Dinnebier (21), Abbie Aalsma (15), Ava Hawthorne (15), Courtney Becker (14), and Anna Miller (13).
• Dinnebier led the Dogs in scoring for the 12th time this season. Thursday also marked her 21st double-figure outing, and 17th game with multiple 3-pointers.
• Aalsma hit five three-point baskets, extending her streak to 13 straight games, making a three-point basket. She also tied a season high with one blocked shot.
• Hawthorne did her damage with seven makes in a career high 12 attempts.
• Becker enjoyed her 13th double-digit effort of the season.
• Miller recorded her ninth double-double of the season and tied her season best with five assists.
• Shannon Fornshell narrowly missed the double-digit mark with nine points but tied her season high with a block and tied her career high with two steals.
• Reserve forward Taedyn Gray also tied a season high with a made trey and tied a career best with two assists.
• Drake's win evened the season series with Murray State at 1-1 after the Racers' triumph in Des Moines last month. The Bulldogs are now 5-1 all-time vs. Murray State.