DES MOINES, Iowa – Graduate senior Grace Berg led the Drake women’s basketball team with her scoring and passing as the Bulldogs beat North Dakota State 77-66 in the annual Character Counts Kids Game at a sold-out Knapp Center on Friday.

“It was a fantastic Character Counts Kids Game…just a phenomenal environment,” Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said. “It got so loud we were almost having to use sign language to call plays, but we love our partnership with the Ray Center and being able to walk the walk as a program with character and grace and humility.

Berg matched her season highs of 22 points and six assists to help the Bulldogs (6-3) achieve their 27th double-digit margin in their last 31 victories. All six wins this season have been by double figures.

Berg made 10 of 12 shots, reaching a season best in field goals, and added three rebounds and two of the team’s 13 steals – one short of the Bulldog’s high for the season.

Taylor McAulay turned in a solid line with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a career-high three blocks. Katie Dinnebier added 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Freshman Shannon Fornshell reached double figures for the first time in her brief career, scoring 11 points, including two 3-pointers, and pulling down three rebounds.  Anna Miller led the Bulldogs with six rebounds, scored nine points and made three steals.

The Bulldogs overcame their 21 turnovers by shooting 57 percent and logging assists on 19 of their 32 field goals. Drake outrebounded its taller opponent 30-29 and outscored the Bison 54-38 in the paint, getting the team’s usual share of driving layups and open shots underneath on slick passes.

A large contingent of area elementary and middle school students helped fill the Knapp Center and brought energy and plenty of noise to the game, which started on a rough note for the Bulldogs. Their first four possessions went missed layup-turnover-missed layup-charging foul as North Dakota State (4-5) jumped to a 6-0 lead.

Berg got the Bulldogs started with a driving layup and they ran off seven straight points to pull ahead. The Bison led twice after that before McAulay fed Berg for a layup, then buried a 3-pointer on a pass from Berg for a 14-10 lead. Drake led the rest of the way but had to work to keep that lead.

Consecutive layups by Berg and Ava Hawthorne stretched the lead to 24-16 early in the second quarter. The Bison ran off six straights points to pull to within a basket, but the Bulldogs answered with six straight of their own to go up 30-22. Yet another driving layup by Berg gave Drake a 34-27 halftime lead.

Courtney Becker and Fornshell hit three-pointers as Drake started the second half with a 9-2 burst to take its biggest lead to that point, 43-29. The Bison came back again with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 43-38 and drew to 45-42 with 3:14 left in the third quarter. They got no closer.

Drake closed the quarter with a 13-2 run to go up 57-44 and stayed ahead by double figures the rest of the way. Berg scored six in that surge and fed McAulay for a three-pointer. Fornshell capped it up when Dinnebier found her in the left corner, and she swished a trey.

Berg made the shot of the day when she tossed the ball back over her head, off the glass and into the basket. Consecutive layups by McAulay, the second after she blocked a three-point shot, picked up the ball and took it to the hoop, gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead, 71-53 with 5:19 left. It was 77-60 when the Bulldogs took their foot off the gas and coasted home.

Drake got help from 20 NDSU turnovers and held the Bison to 4-for-16 three-point shooting. They came in leading the Summit League in three-point percentage (.365) and three-pointers per game (8.1). Heaven Hamling led North Dakota State with 15 points.

“We’ve evolved from our first game to today,” Pohlman added. “We’d like a couple more [possessions] back, but I think offensively we’re doing a nice job and have been able to make some adjustments defensively.”

The Bulldogs will take a break for final exams before returning to action against Creighton at the Knapp Center on Sunday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m.