WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

02/18 03:43 CST Aalsma, Drake Bulldogs host the Valparaiso Beacons Aalsma, Drake Bulldogs host the Valparaiso Beacons By The Associated Press Valparaiso Beacons (0-26, 0-15 MVC) at Drake Bulldogs (7-17, 6-8 MVC) Des Moines, Iowa; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Drake faces Valparaiso in a matchup of MVC teams. The Bulldogs are 3-9 on their home court. Drake is third in the MVC with 10.2 offensive rebounds per game led by Maggie Taylor averaging 2.5. The Beacons have gone 0-15 against MVC opponents. Valparaiso is 0-2 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 18.7 turnovers per game. Drake averages 70.6 points per game, 9.8 fewer points than the 80.4 Valparaiso allows. Valparaiso's 32.9% shooting percentage from the field this season is 10.0 percentage points lower than Drake has allowed to its opponents (42.9%). The matchup Thursday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play. TOP PERFORMERS: Abbie Aalsma is averaging 14.8 points for the Bulldogs. Grace Knutson is averaging 1.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. Fiona Connolly is averaging 11.5 points for the Beacons. Allia von Schlegell is averaging 15.2 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Bulldogs: 3-7, averaging 72.7 points, 35.2 rebounds, 18.1 assists, 5.7 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 43.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.8 points per game. Beacons: 0-10, averaging 58.6 points, 32.1 rebounds, 11.1 assists, 5.7 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 34.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 82.5 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.