DES MOINES, Iowa – A long second half drought stymied the Drake women's basketball team after the Bulldogs had taken a 9-point lead and Northern Iowa rallied for a 66-56 victory at the Knapp Center on Sunday afternoon.
 
Freshman Anna Becker matched her career high with 22 points and Ava Hawthorne added 10, but the Bulldogs could not muster much offense beyond that and saw their 5-game winning streak against the Panthers end. It was UNI's first victory in the series since a 49-47 win in Cedar Falls on Feb. 1, 2023, and saddled Drake with its third straight loss.
 
The Bulldogs (6-15, 5-6) fell behind after leading by as many as five points in the first quarter, trailed 34-33 at halftime, then surged ahead with a 4-minute burst of sharp play to start the second half.
 
Becker hit a jump shot to start things off, drew a foul moments later going to the basket on a fast break, and sank one of the two shots. After a UNI miss, the ball went inside to Quinn Vice and she fired it out to Lexi Carlsen, who buried a three from the top of the key to put the Bulldogs up 39-34. UNI's Ryley Goebel, who put up a triple-double, interrupted the run with a basket, but Drake's Abbie Aalsma stole the ball on the next UNI possession and hit Becker racing to the basket. The 5-foot-10 freshman made the layup through contact and added the free throw.
 
Hawthorne then swished a trey from the top of the key to cap the 12-2 Drake run, which stretched the lead to 45-36 with 6:17 left in the third quarter. But the momentum the Bulldogs had built ended there.
 
They went nearly 10 minutes before making another basket and UNI took control with a 17-1 run. Hawthorne ended the field goal drought when she sliced between two defenders for a layup, drawing the Bulldogs to 53-48 with 6:29 left in the game.
 
But another lull followed. The Bulldogs managed only four free throws during a 5 1/2-minute span before they hit another shot, a Hawthorne layup with 50 seconds left. By then, the Panthers had built a 10-point lead and were well on their way to the victory, just their third in the last 13 games in the series.
 
"We were really in it, stayed super aggressive through the third quarter," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. "We hung around and hung around, and then they went to their iso plays and started fouling too much. All the credit to UNI, Goebel had the game of her life, and they threw a number of different things at us and we just didn't respond."
 
Becker scored in double figures for the seventh straight game and has averaged 16.4 points while shooting 54.8 percent in that span. She went 8-for-15 against the Panthers with two 3-pointers, grabbed five rebounds, handed out three assists and made two steals. After making only two triples in the first 16 games, Becker has gone 7-for-13 from deep in the last five.
 
Hawthorne also hit a pair of 3-pointers in going 4-for-7 from the field. She tacked on three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
Northern Iowa bottled up Drake's leading scorer, Abbie Aalsma, throughout the game and she suffered through a tough shooting day, missing all eight of her shots from beyond the arc and going 1-for-12 overall in finishing with six points. It was only the second game this season she failed to make a trey.
 
The Bulldogs shot just 34 percent for the game and finished 6-for-27 on 3-pointers after missing all nine of their shots from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. Drake committed 23 turnovers – its fourth straight game with at least 20 – but ended up outscoring UNI 11-7 in points off turnovers and logged assists and 15 of its 20 field goals.
 
Vice led the Bulldogs with four assists and Taedyn Gray contributed five rebounds and a steal off the bench.
 
Goebel, a 6-foot senior with a rangy build, dominated the play around the basket, blocking a school-record 10 shots, grabbing 14 rebounds and scoring 18 points. Jenna Twedt led the Panthers (11-10, 7-4) with 19 points and Elise Jaeger added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
 
UNI shot only 38.6 percent and was just 3-for-21 from deep but cashed in on 19 of 24 free throws and outscored the Bulldogs 30-26 in the paint.
 
A home game with Belmont on Thursday night is next up for Drake, which lost to the Bruins in Nashville 78-69 earlier this season. Tip-off time is 6 p.m.
 
 
Notes

• Drake, suffering its third straight loss, fell to 6-15 including 5-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• The Bulldogs slipped 2-8 at home.
• Drake shot 33.9 percent (20-59) including 23.3 percent (7-30) in the second half.
• There were four ties and three lead changes in the game.
• Owning a 45-36 lead following a 3-point basket by Ava Hawthorne with 6:17 left in the third quarter, Drake went the next 9 minutes 29 seconds without a basket. Drake missed 13 shots before a basket by Hawthorne with 6:26 in the fourth quarter ended the drought. UNI took advantage going on a 17-3 run to grab a 53-46 lead it never relinquished. 
• Drake outrebounded UNI, 39-38.
• Drake committed 23 turnovers - its fourth straight game with 20-plus turnovers.
• Anna Becker, enjoying her fifth 20-plus scoring game, led Drake with 22 points including 13 in the first half. Her 22 points matched the freshman's career high.
• Ava Hawthorne added 10 points with seven coming in the second half while leading Drake with three steals.
• Becker, Quinn Vice, Taedyn Gray, and Maggie Taylor led Drake with five rebounds apiece.
• Vice dished out a team-high four assists.
• Drake had a 5-game winning streak against the Panthers snapped but still owns a 75-28, advantage in the all-time series including 41-10 in Des Moines.
• It marked the first time Drake lost to UNI in Des Moines since suffering a 70-69 loss Jan. 11, 2023.