DES MOINES, Iowa -- Lizzy Wendell scored 21 points and No. 21 Drake defeated Northern Iowa 70-57 on Friday night and clinched outright the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship.
The Bulldogs (23-4, 16-0) won their 17th straight game to break the school record they shared with the 1996-97 team. The outright conference title, coming with two games remaining for the Bulldogs, is the first for Drake since the 1999-2000 season.
Drake took an 88-79 double-overtime victory at UNI on Jan. 27 but had an easier time Friday against the second-place Panthers (20-7, 13-3), using a 13-2 run, with nine points from Wendell, to lead by 13, 47-34, after three quarters.