The Basics
Drake women's basketball is back in Des Moines for its final homestand of the 2024-25
season. The Bulldogs are set to host Southern Illinois (Feb. 20) and Missouri State (Feb.
22) with their annual Senior Day celebration after their matchup with the Lady Bears.
Bulldog Bites
The Bulldogs took both games on their latest road trip with a pair of pivotal wins at Murray State and Belmont. Drake's two wins got the Dogs into a tie for second place in the MVC standings.
Katie Dinnebier has been one of the nation's top distributors this season. She ranks second in the NCAA in total assists with 189 and leads the NCAA with 7.6 assists per game. Dinnebier was recently named a MVC Player of the Week for the seventh time this season after averaging 31.5 points last weekend including a career-high 42-point performance in the Dogs' win over Belmont. Dinnebier is the only player in the country averaging at least 20.0 points and 7.0 assists per game this season.
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 .394 and .439, respectively.
Anna Miller's control of the Bulldogs' all-time blocks record has gotten even stronger. The senior forward currently has 265 career rejections. Miller leads The Valley and is 15th in the NCAA with 56 total blocks, and her average of 2.3 blocks per game is also slotted 15th nationally.
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 five rebounders in the league and pace Drake's MVC-best 1,016 total boards and 9.3 rebounding margin. Becker is tracking down the 1,000-point mark for her career. The graduate forward currently owns 991 career points and is looking to become the 38th player in program history to reach 1,000 points.
Bulldog Leaders
Katie Dinnebier | 20.8 ppg, 7.6 apg, 4.4 rpg
Anna Miller | 14.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 2.8 apg
Courtney Becker | 10.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.9 apg
Scouting Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois enters the weekend in a 3-way tie for last place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings. The Salukis are currently 4-19 overall and 2-12 in Valley play. They have lost their last three games and picked up their most recent win at home vs. Evansville on Feb. 7.
Kelly Bond-White is in her third year leading the Salukis. She has built a record of 27-58 during her tenure.
Drake leads its all-time series with Southern Illinois by a 69-30 margin. Drake has won the last four meetings including a victory in Carbondale earlier this season. The Bulldogs are looking to add to their 38-8 record when playing SIU in Des Moines.
Saluki Leaders
Gift Uchenna | 15.1 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 2.3 bpo
Kayla Cooper | 9.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.6 apg
Isabella Palmqvist | 7.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.2 apg
Scouting Missouri State
The Lady Bears of Missouri State will make their final trip to the Knapp Center as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference on Saturday. The Lady Bears are set to depart the MVC after this academic year and join the Conference USA. Currently, Missouri State is 20-5 overall and 12-2 in league play as the sole owners of first place. The Lady Bears are winners of four straight games and will take on UNI in Cedar Falls on Thursday evening before visiting Des Moines.
Missouri State is led by head coach Beth Cunningham. Formerly the head coach at VCU, Cunningham has amassed a total record of 230-142 and coached the Lady Bears to a 63-27 mark.
Missouri State leads the all-time series with Drake 52-48. The Lady Bears won this year's first tilt in Springfield in a dramatic overtime affair. That win snapped a spurt of four consecutive wins by the Bulldogs.
Lady Bear Leaders
Lacy Stokes | 12.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.0 apg
Kyrah Daniels | 11.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.6 apg
Sarah Linthicum | 11.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.7 apg
Up Next
The Bulldogs will conclude their 2024-25 home schedule when they welcome Indiana State (Feb. 27) before hitting the road to visit UNI to tip off the month of March.
