VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Drake University women’s basketball team started a two-game road stretch with an 83-54 rout of Valparaiso. The Bulldogs (11-4, 4-0) used an explosive second half to sprint past Valpo (1-12, 0-4) in a sparsely populated Athletics-Recreation Center.

Katie Dinnebier scored the game’s first basket off the tip, burying a three from the wing. Grace Berg matched just a few possessions later with a three of her own.

The Beacons cut into Drake’s early lead when Saniya Jackson, Valpo’s leading scorer in their last time out at Southern Illinois, hit a pair of triples. Leah Earnest added to the Beacons’ short run with another three-pointer. Drake led 10-9 halfway through the first period.

Dinnebier went coast-to-coast for a deuce just before the first quarter horn as Drake weathered a sluggish opening frame to lead 18-17 after one.

Drake’s dynamic point guard started the second quarter with another three-point play, this time of the traditional variety with a layup and subsequent free throw. Later in the period, Valpo’s Olivia Sims mirrored Dinnebier with an and-one of her own to get the Beacons back within two. On the next trip down the floor, Anna Miller continued the run of old-fashioned threes with a hoop and some harm.

The Bulldogs were able to find a little footing as the first half wound to a close including a pair of free throws from Berg. The Bulldogs took a 31-24 lead into the half.

Drake came out of the halftime hiatus with some extra spunk, scoring in the paint on back-to-back possessions to force a Valpo timeout. The Bulldogs eventually built a lead of 13, their largest of the game up to that point. After a Beacon trey, Anna Miller answered with a pick-and-pop three to put her into double figures and re-extend Drake’s lead.

Ava Hawthorne joined in with her first score of the evening, a deep three from the top of the key, to grow the lead to over 20. Drake’s 16-0 run was halted by a Sims triple on the other end. Dinnebier then punctuated the third period with some flare as she banked in a heave from just inside half court to give the Dogs a 62-36 lead with just 10 minutes to play.

Anna Brown notched her name in the scorebook with a pair of perimeter jumpers as Drake rode their wave throughout the entire fourth quarter en route to an 83-54 victory.

“Winning on the road is never easy,” Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. “We didn’t have to make too many adjustments, just needed to do what we do well. We came out a little tentative…got a little stifled in the first quarter and looked a little surprised at how well Valpo shot it to start. But I’m really proud of our entire team for how we responded in the second half…it’s never easy to win on the road.”

Katie Dinnebier continued her superb 2023-24 campaign with a game-high 26 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 4-of-5 three-point shooting. She also added six assists to lead all players.

Drake also got double-figure efforts from Grace Berg with 18 and Anna Miller with 16. Berg added eight rebounds while Miller led all players with 10 to complete her sixth double-double of the season.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to complete their road swing on Sunday, Jan. 14 at UIC.