DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake women’s basketball (1-0) opened a new season with a sizzling performance from long range in rolling past St. Thomas (0-1) 94-69 at the Knapp Center on Monday night.

After watching the banner honoring their 2023 Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship unfurl from the rafters, the Bulldogs wasted no time setting the tone for the game. Grace Berg and Courtney Becker knocked down three-pointers on Drake’s first two trips down the floor and the shots just kept falling.

The Bulldogs hit nine of their first 14 shots from beyond the arc and were 15-for-27 after three quarters before finishing 15-of-33. Graduate transfer Anna Brown led the barrage, going 5-for-7 from deep and finishing with 17 points in her Drake debut.

The five treys matched the career high she reached twice at Loyola Chicago, where she played four seasons before joining the Bulldogs.

Berg led the Bulldogs with 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Katie Dinnebier added 13 points, five assists and two steals, while Becker and Taylor McAulay and each scored 11. Becker had a solid line with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. She made all but one of her six shots.

Freshman Shannon Fornshell also grabbed nine rebounds and scored four points.

The 94 points were the most for the Bulldogs in a season opener since they beat North Dakota 99-91 on Nov. 11, 2016. The Bulldogs shot 51 percent overall and had assists on 27 of their 33 field goals. Drake finished second nationally in assists last season, averaging 20.9 per game.

The celebration of last season’s tournament success continued after the game when the players, coaches, and staff members received their championship rings.

St. Thomas, a Division I program only since 2021, clawed back to tie the game at 6-all. Then the Bulldogs took over. A 20-2 burst that included two triples each by McAulay and Ashley Iiams and one from Brown made it 26-8 and the Bulldogs were in control from then on.

Brown knocked down back-to-back treys to start the second quarter to stretch the lead to 32-8. At that point, five different players had made a 3 for the Bulldogs. By the end of the game, seven had hit at least one shot from beyond the arc.

When the Bulldogs weren’t striking from long range, they got layups in transition, scored on aggressive drives to the basket and set themselves up for easy shots with strong cuts to the hoop. Junior post Anna Miller led the team with six assists, matching her career high, including a slick high-low feed to Berg for a bucket early in the game. She also pulled down six rebounds and blocked two shots.

Drake led 48-30 at halftime and was up by as many as 28 before St. Thomas made a little run, drawing to 82-68 with 4:30 left. The Bulldogs then outscored the Tommies 12-1 to finish it off.

Jo Langbehn’s 16 points led St. Thomas, which plays in the Summit League. Drake held the Tommies to 6-for-25 shooting from 3-point range and 38.5 percent overall.

Drake travels to Saint Louis for a game at 7 p.m. Thursday, then hosts Iowa State at 2 p.m. next Sunday.