NORMAL, Ill. – Drake women's basketball went into CEFCU Arena, the home of the Illinois State Redbirds and a venue which has caused the Bulldogs trouble in previous years, and nearly left with a victory. Drake battled ISU for the entirety of Saturday's 40-minute affair, but the Redbirds were able to defend their home court with a 77-70 result.
 
Trista Fayta leapt out of the gates for the Redbirds with five quick points as Illinois State opened a 7-0 lead to initiate Saturday's action. Ava Hawthorne finally ended Drake's slow start with a driving deuce off glass.
 
Maggie Taylor and Anna Becker were able to add five more before Quinn Vice swished in a turn-around two in transition to knot the score at nine apiece. Hawthorne added another fast break bucket to give Drake its first lead of the day followed by a second Vice conversion, capping a 9-0 Bulldog run and forcing an Illinois State timeout.
 
The Redbirds were able to settle back into their groove, but Drake kept marching right along with them toward the end of the opening period. Addison Martin nailed a turn-around of her own as the first quarter clock expired, giving Illinois State a 21-17 lead after one.
 
The Bulldogs outscored Illinois State 14-6 in the paint in the first period, but the Redbirds did a nice job forcing the Drake offense out of the interior through the second. A quick spurt by the red-and-white prompted Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman to use her first timeout of the afternoon.
 
Hawthorne did her best to captain a disjointed Drake attack back into contention after the Redbirds opened their lead up to 13. The senior guard canned a 3-pointer to get her into double figures on the day before reserve forward Taedyn Gray grabbed an offensive board and finished the second chance opportunity.
 
Gray did the same just a couple trips later. After getting her initial shot blocked, the native Kansan put another up and in with a second left to punctuate an 8-0 run and make it 36-31 in favor of Illinois State at the half.
 
The two teams swapped scores to start the second half, but a couple defensive stands by Drake allowed the Bulldogs to erase the 5-point halftime deficit. Anna Becker had six points in the first three minutes of the third frame including a short jumper to put Drake on top by one.
 
The Redbirds were able to work their back in front, but Drake continued to hang around. Brooklin Dailey lofted one in before Abbie Aalsma, who returned to Normal where she began her collegiate career before transferring to Drake ahead of the 2024-25 season, sank two free throws after a technical foul on Illinois State's Doneelah Washington.
 
ISU was able to maintain its advantage thanks to a strong close to the third quarter by Washington and a flurry of Drake fouls that sent the Redbirds to the free throw line.
 
Quinn Vice pattycaked one in for the Dogs with nine seconds left in the stanza, but Fayta took the ensuing inbound coast-to-coast for two more. Illinois State led 59-51 with 10 minutes to play.
 
Maggie Taylor gave the Bulldogs a jolt to begin the fourth quarter, banking one in with a foul. Her successive freebie clanked off the iron, but Anna Becker was able to keep the ball on Drake's end of the floor. Hawthorne eventually finished off the 5-point possession with a deep trey off glass to beat the shot clock.
 
Hawthorne eventually picked up her fourth personal foul on a pivotal charging call, giving the rock back to the Redbirds with a 5-point gap and just under five minutes remaining.
 
The Bulldogs were able to carve the difference down to just one but later fell into a scoreless spell of over two minutes, which was halted by two Anna Becker free throws.
 
Trailing by four, Drake settled into the defensive end as the 1-minute mark came and went. Fayta buried two from the charity stripe before Pohlman called a timeout to advance the into the Dogs' end of the hardwood.
 
Despite the Bulldogs' valiant effort, Illinois State's advantage was simply too wide with not enough time left on the clock. The Redbirds held on to win, 77-70, ending a 4-game Bulldog winning streak in the series.
 
"We came in with a real competitive spirit," Pohlman said following the game. "We were focused and finished well on the interior with 50 points in the paint. But credit to Illinois State…[they] did a good job of exposing us at times and drew a lot of calls. We showed some positives…Ava had a spunkiness to her today that was contagious; she played with a large chip on her shoulder. There was a lot of physicality that we just ended up on the wrong side of."
 
Anna Becker led the Bulldogs with 15 points, just ahead of Ava Hawthorne's season high 14. Maggie Taylor and Abbie Aalsma both reached double digits with 10.
 
Taylor paced Drake on the glass with eight rebounds while Becker snared seven. Aalsma and Hawthorne also distributed a team high four assists.
 
Drake will have an extended break with its next matchup coming a week from today on Feb. 14 in the Knapp Center. The Bulldogs will host Indiana State for their annual Pink Game, appropriately held on Valentine's Day, with tip off slated for 2 p.m.
 
Notes

• Drake, suffering its fifth straight loss, fell to 6-17 including 5-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• The Bulldogs slipped 4-6 away from home.
• Drake shot 50.9 percent (29-57) from the field and 17.6 percent (3-17) from 3-point range.
• There were four ties and six lead changes in the game.
• Drake outrebounded Illinois State, 40-28.
• Anna Becker led the Bulldogs with 15 points and snared seven rebounds.
• Ava Hawthorne matched her season high with 14 and tied Abbie Aalsma with a team best four assists.
• Aalsma and Maggie Taylor both recorded 10 points to round out Drake's double-digit scorers.
• Taylor paced the Bulldogs' rebounding effort with eight.
• Drake had a 4-game winning streak against the Redbirds snapped but still owns a 55-41, advantage in the all-time series.
• It marked the first time Drake lost to Illinois State since suffering a 79-70 loss Jan. 27, 2024.