DES MOINES, Iowa – The smiles returned as the Drake women's basketball team broke a five-game losing streak and gave Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman her 100th victory.
 
Abbie Aalsma broke out of shooting slump with 19 points, and the Bulldogs got career-best performances from Grace Knutson and Brooklin Dailey in beating Indiana State 88-70 in a Valentine's Day matinee at the Knapp Center on Saturday.
 
The Bulldogs (7-17, 6-8), beginning a three-game home stand, jumped ahead early as Indiana State missed its first 16 shots and put up solid numbers across the board. Drake knocked down a season-high 14 3-pointers, outrebounded the Sycamores 50-45 to match the team's season best in that category, and got 33 points from the bench.
 
Aalsma hit 7-of-14 shots, including two treys, and tacked on five rebounds and three assists. When she buried a triple in the final minute of the first quarter, it was her first make from distance since the second quarter of the Jan. 16 game against Bradley. She had scored only 27 points in the previous four games, going 1-for-19 from behind arc.
 
Drake improved to 6-3 this season when Aalsma scores at least 19 points. All six conference wins have come by double figures.
 
Knutson had no problem with her stroke in this annual Pink Game to celebrate breast cancer survivors. The sophomore from Cedar Falls knocked down a career-high five shots from deep in seven attempts and finished with 17 points, her best game since scoring a career-best 24 against Western Illinois back on Dec. 17. She also handed out five assists.
 
Dailey, a junior, collected a career-high 12 rebounds and scored nine points, missing her first career double-double by a single point. In a physical game, Dailey drew nine of Indiana State's 21 fouls and cashed in six times on 10 free throws. Her previous best on the boards was seven, a figure she reached twice.
 
Freshman Anna Becker continued her productive play with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting and seven rebounds. She is averaging 15.8 points over the last 10 games and shooting 55.8 percent from the field in that stretch. Lexi Carlsen connected three times from 3-point range to match her season high and finished with 10 points, five rebounds and two assists. Ava Hawthorne added eight points, five assists and a season-best four steals, which matched her career high.
 
Pohlman, who fittingly donned a red long-sleeved sweater with a large heart on the front while patrolling the sideline, is now 100-59 in her four-plus seasons as head coach. She is the fifth coach in program history to reach the century mark in victories.
 
With Indiana State (8-17, 4-11) struggling to get any kind of shot to drop, the Bulldogs had some issues at their end of the floor, too, but did run off nine straight points for a 9-2 lead and they stayed on top the rest of the way. They finished the quarter strong, scoring 10 points on the final 3:06 to build 19-8 lead as Hawthorne and Aaslma hit back-to-back 3s. Indiana State's eight points were the fewest Drake has allowed in the opening period this season. The Sycamores didn't make a basket until Jayci Allen scored on a putback with 2:49 left in the quarter and finished the period 2-for-22 from the field.
 
The Sycamores kept pace with the Bulldogs in the second quarter by getting to the free throw line and Drake led 39-27 at the break after Dailey dropped in two free throws to finish the quarter.
 
Aalsma then got going in a big way coming out of halftime. She scored 11 of Drake's first 12 points in the half, making three layups, knocking down a 3 and sinking two free throws. That led a 15-2 run that Knutson capped with a triple, stretching the lead to 54-29. Carlsen hit consecutive treys to end the third quarter, hiking the lead to 68-39, which would be the Bulldogs' biggest of the game.
 
Six different Drake players scored in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs wrapped up their eighth straight win over Indiana State and 18th in the last 19 meetings, Knutson topping it off with her final two triples. Drake holds an overwhelming 39-6 edge in the series at home.
 
"It was a longer game with a lot of stoppages…significantly long third quarter," Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. "We really had to keep our composure, and our coaching staff did a nice job in those moments talking specifically about basketball. Subtle reminders that diffused a heated situation but refocused us onto the task at hand…how we were going to get the next stop, the next score. All in all, just a hard-fought, gritty win that we needed at this point in the season."
 
Allen finished with 17 points to lead Indiana State, which shot just 20.6 percent in the first half and 32 percent for the game. The Bulldogs did a good job on the Sycamores' Tierney Kelsey, who had scored 27 points in a loss at Northern Iowa on Thursday night. She had 13 in this one on 5-for-20 shooting.
 
Drake continues its home stand against Valparaiso at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19, then hosts UIC on Sunday, Feb. 22 a 2 p.m. as the regular season starts winding down.
 
 
Notes

• Drake, which snapped a 5-game losing streak, moved to 7-17 overall including a 6-8 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• All six of Drake's league wins have been by double figures.
• The Bulldogs improved to 3-9 at home
• Allison Pohlman became the fifth coach in Drake history to record 100 victories joining Carole Baumgarten (1974-86, 257 wins), Lisa Bluder (1991-2000, 188), Amy Stephens (2003-12, 151) and Jennie Baranczyk (2012-21, 192)
• Drake shot 46.8 percent (29-62) including 56.7 percent (17-30) in the second half
• There was one tie and one lead change in the game.
• Indiana State missed its first 16 shots to start the game before Jayci Allen broke the drought with a basket with 2:46 left in the first quarter 
• Drake limited Indiana State to eight points in the first quarter while enjoying a 19-8 lead. That was the fewest points scored by a Drake opponent in the first quarter this season.
• Drake owned a 39-27 lead at halftime - the most points the Bulldogs had scored over their last five games since scoring 41 in the first half of home game vs. Murray State Jan. 11
• Drake improved to 6-1 when leading at halftime.
• Drake matched a season high with 50 rebounds, outrebounding the Sycamores, 50-45.
• Drake made a season high 13 three-point baskets, marking the third game the Bulldogs have made 10 or more three-pointers
• Drake made eight of 16 shots beyond the three-point arc in the second half.
• Senior Abbie Aalsma led Drake with 19 points as the Bulldogs improved to 6-3 when she scores 19 or more points in a game.
• Sophomore Grace Knutson added 17 points, making a career high five three-point baskets (seven attempts).
• Freshman Anna Becker chipped in with 14 points, including eight in the first half.
• Sophomore transfer Lexi Carlsen had 10 points, tying a season high with three three-point baskets. 
• Aalsma broke out of a cold shooting spell beyond the 3-point arch by making two of seven shots. She had missed 21 straight three-point shots covering five games before ending the drought.
• Aalsma scored the first nine points to open the second half for Drake
• Junior Brooklin Dailey, making her second straight start of the season, led Drake with a career-high 12 rebounds after collecting just one rebound in the previous game at Indiana State Dec. 17.
• Senior Ava Hawthorne tied season high with four steals
  Drake, winning its eighth straight game against Indiana State, leads the all-time series 69-24 including a 39-6 mark in games played in Des Moines.
• This marked the Bulldogs third straight victory against Indiana State in the Knapp Center.