NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Drake women's basketball battled from start to finish in its opening contest of a 2-game road trip. The Bulldogs went back-and-forth with Belmont in Nashville but could not overcome 26 turnovers and a late Bruin push as the hosts secured a 78-69 result.
 
The two teams struggled to get into an offensive rhythm after Anna Becker floated in the game's first score. Drake was eventually blanked for over three minutes as the Bruins opened an early advantage. Maggie Taylor halted the cold streak with a short jumper before Quinn Eubank answered on the other end with a triple.
 
Becker continued her solid start to Friday's game with a hoop-and-harm to keep the Dogs within striking distance. Grace Knutson then chipped in after corralling a missed Bruin shot and going coast-to-coast for a fadeaway deuce before Brooklin Dailey give Drake another lead on a successful 3-pointer.
 
Drake took its turn on defense, holding the Bruins scoreless for nearly the final 90 seconds of the opening stanza, but an Avery Strickland putback beat the first period buzzer got the hosts within a score after one, 18-16.
 
Belmont promptly knotted the tally on the first possession of the second period, but both squads continued to trade blows.
 
The Bulldogs fell into another scoreless spell as Bart Brooks' bunch turned up the physicality defensively. Eubank capped a 7-0 run that spanned nearly three minutes and gave Belmont a 5-point advantage, prompting a timeout from Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman.
 
Abbie Aalsma finally snapped the Dogs' lengthy drought, which lasted over five minutes, with a deep three. Dailey then scored five straight for the Bulldogs including another 3-pointer to trim Belmont's lead down to just two, which was subsequently erased by a Knutson runner.
 
Veteran guard Tuti Jones canned a long-range bomb just moments before the halftime horn sounded, giving Belmont a 35-32 advantage at the break.
 
Quinn Vice hooked in the second half's first score after a perfectly executed play by the Bulldogs. Lexi Carlsen then tracked down an offensive board after a Vice misfire, which ended up in the hands of Aalsma, who sliced through the Belmont D for two more.
 
Both teams continued to swing away as the third quarter marched on. Dailey nailed a short-corner two to put the Bulldogs up by a tally, but then committed a foul on the other end, leading to a Strickland and-one. Hilary Fuller later converted another traditional 3-point play as the Bruins expanded their lead to six points.
 
A Knutson floater rimmed out as the third quarter timer expired, but the sophomore from Cedar Falls helped Drake claw right back in it. The Dogs trailed 56-54 ahead of the final frame.
 
The back-and-forth action continued in the fourth quarter as both teams controlled the lead at various points over the final 10 minutes. Belmont led by five as the midway point of the period came and went, but the Bulldogs refused to go away quietly. Ava Hawthorne banked one in to beat the shot clock and get Drake back within a bucket.
 
The clock ticked under three minutes after Knutson scored another on the interior and Hawthorne came up with a key defensive stop, keeping the deficit at just three points.  After another Bruin basket, Hawthorne and the Dogs' defense stymied the Bruins again, but the Drake offense came up empty on the ensuing possession.
 
Drake dialed up a defensive press, hoping to turn the Bruins over and keep its winning hopes alive, but Claire Hyde had other ideas. Hyde delivered a deep dagger from the wing. Belmont was able to balloon their lead in the final seconds as Drake tried to extend the game via fouls. The Bruins went to secure the victory, 78-69.
 
"When it all comes down to it, it was just the minute details," Pohlman said. "When you play a good team on their home floor, you have to excel at a lot of things. We did some good things and made some plays, but we needed to take [better] care of the basketball. We got rushed in certain moments and they were able to get into our space a bit. We rebounded really well, which remedied some of our turnovers. Good teams take advantage of those things, so we needed to put ourselves a little bit closer."
 
Abbie Aalsma led the Bulldogs with 18 points to go with four rebounds and four assists.
 
Brooklin Dailey had a career high 16 points and matched her career best with seven rebounds. She also dished out three assists.
 
Grace Knutson rounded out Drake's double-digit scorers with 14 off the bench. She also mirrored her career best on the glass with six rebounds of her own. Maggie Taylor paced the Drake rebounding effort with nine.
 
Drake will be back in action on Sunday, Jan. 11, for a date with defending MVC regular season and tournament champion Murray State. The Bulldogs and Racers will tip things off at 2 p.m. in Murray.
 

Notes

• With the loss, Drake fell to 4-10 overall and 3-1 in MVC play, suffering its first league loss of the year.
• Drake outrebounded the Bruins, 49-23.
• 23 of Drake's 49 rebounds wer on the offensive end.
• The Bulldogs also doled out 17 assists to Belmont's 13.
• Abbie Aalsma led the Bulldogs with 18 points to go with four rebounds and four assists.
• Brooklin Dailey had a career high 16 points and matched her career best with seven rebounds. She also dished out three assists.
• Grace Knutson rounded out Drake's double-digit scorers with 14 off the bench. She also mirrored her career best on the glass with six rebounds of her own.
• Maggie Taylor paced the Drake rebounding effort with nine.
• Drake is now 5-3 all-time against Belmont and an even 2-2 when playing the Bruins in Nashville.