DES MOINES — A slew of turnovers and Indiana State’s sharp second-half shooting sent the Drake University women’s basketball team to a 78-70 loss in the opening game of the Missouri Valley Conference season at the Knapp Center on Thursday night.

Indiana State broke a 10-game losing streak to Drake and handed the Bulldogs’ their first loss in a conference opener since Jan 1, 2016, when Drake lost to Southern Illinois 77-67.

Drake (8-4) led by as many as 13 points in the first half and was up by nine early in the fourth quarter before the Sycamores (6-6) rallied to beat the Bulldogs for the first time since a 68-53 victory in Terre Haute on Feb. 14, 2016.

The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field and outrebounded Indiana State 34-20 but committed a season-high 30 turnovers. The Sycamores came up with 17 steals and built a 32-15 edge in points off turnovers, more than enough to account for the final margin.

Junior Grace Berg led Drake with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Junior Maggie Bair, playing with a clear face mask to protect a broken nose, was the only other Drake player in double figures with 11 points. Freshman Anna Miller added nine points and graduate Maddie Petersen scored eight. Petersen also had two assists to move into sixth place on Drake’s records list with 482.

Drake will return to action on New Year’s Day against Evansville at the Knapp Center at 2 p.m.