The Basics 
Drake women's basketball will continue its 2024-25 season in the WBIT this week. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs are set to host a first-round tilt against Marquette in what could be the final game at the Knapp Center this year. The Bulldogs and Golden Eagles will be the first WBIT to play this year with tip off set for 2 p.m.
 
Bulldogs by the Numbers 
Drake enters WBIT play at 22-11 overall and went 15-5 in MVC play. The Bulldogs finished the regular season calendar in a tie with Belmont for third and were slotted in the fourth position in the MVC bracket due to league tiebreakers. Drake took out No. 5 seed Illinois State before bowing out to eventual conference tournament champion Murray State in a 96-90 matchup, the highest-scoring MVC tournament game of all time.
 
Anna Miller has elevated her status as one of the most prolific defenders in the history of the MVC. The senior forward currently has 278 career rejections. Miller is third in The Valley and is 22nd in the NCAA with 65 total blocks, and her average of 2.0 blocks per game is also slotted 29th 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 six rebounders in the league and pace Drake's MVC-best 1,315 total boards and 9.2 rebounding margin.
 
Both Miller and Katie Dinnebier surpassed major personal milestones in Drake's MVC quarterfinal win over Illinois State. Miller became the sixth player in team history to record at least 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Dinnebier eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for her career, making her the seventh all-time Bulldogs to each that mark. Dinnebier has been one of the nation's top distributors this season. She leads the NCAA in total assists with 240 and assists per game with 7.3. She is also second on the Dogs' all-time assists list with 775 dishes, just 11 behind Caitlin Ingle's program record.
 
Guards Katie Dinnebier and Abbie Aalsma have been a dynamic duo from deep range this season. Both sharpshooters are ranked in the top five of MVC hoops in 3-point percentage with marks of .399 and .444, respectively. Dinnebier recently her second MVC Player of the Year award in as many seasons. She is also one of five finalists for the Mid-Major Player of the Year and was considered an All-America Honorable Mention by both the USBWA and Associated Press.
 
The Bulldogs have qualified for their first-ever appearance in the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament. The WBIT is in its second year of existence and features a field of 32 teams that did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
 
Bulldog Leaders
Katie Dinnebier | 23.4 ppg, 7.3 apg, 4.5 rpg
Anna Miller | 13.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.8 apg
Courtney Becker | 10.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.0 apg
 
Scouting Marquette
Marquette 20-10 overall and got through Big East Conference play at 12-6. The Golden Eagles have lost their last two games including their regular season finale at UConn and Big East Tournament quarterfinal tilt against Villanova after winning five straight contests.
 
Cara Consuegra, a 2001 University of Iowa graduate, is in her first season leading the Marquette women after 14 years at Charlotte. She is 20-10 at Marquette, and 245-170 overall, in her 15-year head coaching career.
 
Drake and Marquette are 2-2 in their all-time series with each other. The Bulldogs won the first two meetings in 1998 and 1999 before Marquette took down Drake in 2003 and 2004. The Dogs are 1-1 when playing Marquette in Des Moines.

Golden Eagle Leaders
Skylar Forbes | 15.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.8 bpg
Lee Volker | 12.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.9 apg
Halle Vice | 11.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.9 apg
 
Up Next 
The winner of Thursday afternoon's contest will advance to the WBIT second round and to take on the winner of No. 1 seed James Madison and Davidson. The location and time of Sunday's second round game is still to be determined.