GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Drake women’s basketball team (7-4) punctuated their non-conference schedule with a 108-60 blowout victory over North Dakota (3-8) on Thursday afternoon. The Bulldogs erupted for their first 100+ point performance since the 2021-22 season.

Courtney Becker and Taylor McAulay went back-to-back to start the contest with a three-pointer off the tip and a strip and score on the next trip down the floor. Anna Miller joined in with her first bucket with a shimmy down the lane before McAulay buried a three of her own.

McAulay continued her all-around start with a blocked shot on the perimeter, the second-straight for Drake, before Grace Berg canned the team’s third three-pointer in four attempts to force a North Dakota timeout. Drake led 13-2 at the first pause.

Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman put on a press out of the timeout as a change of pace defensively. The Fighting Hawks probed their way to a couple scores despite the increased pressure, but the Bulldogs maintained their early advantage. Anna Brown chipped in with five-straight points for the Bulldogs as the clock ticked under the halfway point of the opening quarter.

Drake’s lead bloomed into double figures for the first time after a Katie Dinnebier three as the Bulldogs continued their red-hot start.

Anna Brown led the Bulldogs down the stretch of the first period, reaching 11 points as the first player in double figures. Drake led by eight after the first 10 minutes of play. Pohlman’s squad hit seven three-point baskets in the opening stanza, their most in a single period since making the same number vs. DePaul in the 2021 WNIT.

The second quarter started with a much slower pace as the initial sprint tapered off. North Dakota used the shift to briefly swing momentum back in its direction as the hosts chipped away at Drake’s lead.

The Bulldogs weathered their way through the lower-scoring second quarter and rebuilt their lead in the process. Drake took a 51-34 advantage into the half.

Kacie Borowicz provided the first points of the second half for North Dakota, but Anna Miller answered on the other end. The Bulldogs’ onslaught ensued as Drake exploded out to a 27-point lead to force a Fighting Hawk timeout. Ava Hawthorne pitched in with her first triple of the afternoon to extend Drake’s advantage to 30.

Dinnebier banked one in as time expired on the third quarter. The Dogs led by 33 with 10 minutes to play.

Hawthorne fed Brown in the fourth quarter to give Drake exactly 100 points, their first triple-digit performance since beating Illinois State 104-62 in Feb. 2022. The Dogs cruised from there, eventually emptying their bench and earning the 108-60 road win.

“We scored 31 points in the first quarter,” Pohlman said after the game. “But I also thought that North Dakota did they made their set of runs..but we didn’t falter at all. We constantly stayed within the gameplan, getting inside touches outside touches, utilizing our versatility. We shot the three extremely, extremely well, especially in that very first quarter…just watching people step up to that line, go ahead and let it fly… it just felt really, really good.”

Six Bulldogs scored in double figures led by Anna Miller’s 20. Katie Dinnebier and Anna Brown both added 16 while Grace Berg and Taylor McAulay posted 13. Courtney Becker rounded out the Bulldogs’ offensive leaders with 10 points.

Freshman Shannon Fornshell corralled a team-high nine rebounds while Miller, Dinnebier, and reserve guard Ava Hawthorne dished out five assists.

Brooklin Dailey came off the bench for her best showing to date with a career-high seven points and seven rebounds.

“[This win] really means a lot,” Brown said in the postgame show. “Especially coming off [our last game] and then also just going into this little break we have before conference. I think it just gives us a little mojo going into MVC play.”

The Bulldogs will tip off their 2023-24 Valley slate on Dec. 30 with a trip to Southern Illinois.