Aalsma and the Drake Bulldogs visit conference foe Illinois State

Illinois State plays Drake in a matchup of MVC teams. Saturday’s matchup is the first of the season for the two teams. Illinois State is 7-4 against the MVC, and…

BOTTOM LINE: Abbie Aalsma and Drake take on Doneelah Washington and Illinois State in MVC action Saturday.

The Redbirds are 11-0 in home games. Illinois State has a 3-6 record against teams over .500.

The Bulldogs are 5-7 against MVC opponents. Drake ranks sixth in the MVC shooting 30.1% from 3-point range.

Illinois State is shooting 43.8% from the field this season, 0.5 percentage points higher than the 43.3% Drake allows to opponents. Drake averages 6.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.8 more makes per game than Illinois State gives up.

The Redbirds and Bulldogs face off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Washington is scoring 16.3 points per game and averaging 9.0 rebounds for the Redbirds. Grace Nelson is averaging 1.7 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Aalsma is averaging 14.9 points for the Bulldogs. Anna Becker is averaging 14.7 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Redbirds: 7-3, averaging 78.2 points, 32.4 rebounds, 18.2 assists, 7.3 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.0 points per game.

Bulldogs: 3-7, averaging 72.7 points, 35.4 rebounds, 18.6 assists, 5.8 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.4 points.

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.…Read more by The Associated Press