The Basics
Drake women's basketball will conclude a 3-game homestand as rivals Illinois State and Bradley come to town. The matchups with the Redbirds and Braves will be part of Drake's annual Des Moines' Hometown Team Weekend.
 
Des Moines' Hometown Team Weekend
Drake Athletics has announced a unique experience for Bulldog fans to partake in the celebration of their hometown team with Hoopy Hour from the Knapp Center on Friday, Feb. 7 and Saturday, Feb. 8. The event will be in conjunction with Drake basketball's Des Moines Hometown Team Weekend and allow fans to experience the revamped MidAmerican Energy Foundation Atrium and Morrison Hall of Honor while getting to enjoy live music alongside current Drake head coaches, and Drake Athletics staff.
 
More information on this weekend's Hoopy Hour celebrations is available here.
 
Both Drake men's and women's teams will also be wearing their Des Moines themed alternate uniforms.
 
Bulldog Bites
The Bulldogs continued to right the ship with a dramatic rivalry win last weekend. Drake rode an Anna Miller double-double to a 69-63 win over Northern Iowa. The win improved Drake's records to 13-8 overall and 7-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
 
Katie Dinnebier has been one of the nation's top distributors this season. She ranks third in the NCAA in total assists with 153 and is second in the NCAA with 7.3 assists per game. Dinnebier is one of three Missouri Valley Conference players. averaging 20-plus points per game. She is second with an average of 20.2 points per contest. She was recently named a top 10 finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year.
 
Dinnebier and Abbie Aalsma have been a dynamic duo from deep range this season. Both sharpshooters are ranked in the top seven of MVC hoops in 3-point percentage with marks of .398 and .407, respectively.
 
Anna Miller's control of the Bulldogs' all-time blocks record has gotten even stronger. The senior forward currently has 260 career rejections. Miller leads The Valley and is 12th in the NCAA with 47 total blocks, and her average of 2.2 blocks per game is also slotted 17th nationally. Miller now has 914 career rebounds.  She is just the 10th player in program history to secure at least 900 rebounds in her career.
 
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 six rebounders in the league and pace Drake's MVC-best 857 total boards and 9.4 rebounding margin.

Bulldog Leaders
Katie Dinnebier | 20.2 ppg, 7.3 apg, 4.3 rpg
Anna Miller | 15.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.8 apg
Courtney Becker | 9.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.9 apg
 
Scouting Illinois State
Illinois State is currently 14-7 overall and 8-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play this season. The Redbirds are a game up on Drake in the MVC standings despite the Dogs' 85-64 win in Normal on Jan. 12. Illinois State has won its last five games since that bout including a 66-55 win over Missouri State in their most recent contest.
 
Head coach Kristen Gillespie is in her eighth season leading the Redbirds. She has amassed a 146-89 record at Illinois State.
 
Drake leads its all-time series with Illinois State by a 53-40 margin. The Bulldogs have won two in a row in the rivalry and are 28-13 when playing in Des Moines.

Redbird Leaders
Shannon Dowell | 15.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.8 apg
Elyce Knudsen | 13.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.3 apg
Nevaeh Thomas | 12.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.2 apg

Scouting Bradley
Bradley is currently 9-13 overall and 3-8 in Missouri Valley Conference play this season. The Braves have split their last two matchups including a 69-51 loss at UNI on Friday night. Bradley is looking to improve up on its 2-9 road record this season.
 
Kate Popovec-Goss is in her third season as the Braves' head coach. She has led Bradley to a 13-41 record during her tenure.
 
Drake owns the all-time series with Bradley. The Bulldogs are 70-18 vs. the Braves with wins in the last eight meetings. Drake is looking to improve their 36-6 mark against Bradley when playing in Des Moines.  

Brave Leaders
Soleil Barnes | 15.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.5 apg
Tamia Perryman | 8.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.4 apg
Kaylen Nelson | 8.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.9 apg

Up Next
Drake will hit the road for its penultimate road weekend. The Bulldogs will be rematch-minded for visits to Murray State (Feb. 13) and Belmont (Feb. 15).