DES MOINES, Iowa – Saint Louis freshman guard Shun'teria Anumele led all scorers with 26 points, but Drake pulled away in the fourth quarter to post a 95-70 win over the Billikens Thursday night at the Knapp Center.

The Bills, who won at South Dakota in Monday's opener, ended their tough season-opening road swing with a 1-1 record. Drake, the defending back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference champions, improved to 2-0.

It was a much closer game than the final score indicates. SLU was within a point of the lead with 3:54 in the third quarter and were within four with less than two minutes left in the third. But Drake outscored the Billikens 29-12 in the fourth quarter to post the win.

Anumele's 26 points came on nine field goals, including four treys. She was also 4-of-4 from the stripe. The 26 points are the third-most scored by a SLU freshman in school history, behind Mia Johnson's 31 points against Austin Peay in 2004 and Theresa Lisch's 27 points at Southern Illinois in 2006.

Brooklyn Gray and Peyton Kennedy added 14 points apiece for the Billikens. Kennedy Calhoun had six points, four assists and four steals. Tierra Simon led the Bills in rebounding for the second straight game with eight caroms. She also had a career high three steals. 

The Billikens had an 8-0 run in the second quarter to grab a two-point lead with 8:27 left in the second. It was a three-point game at halftime with Drake leading 37-34.

The Bulldogs would go on to shoot 66.7 percent in the third quarter and 57.1 percent in the fourth to take control. They were led in the game by Anna Miller, who scored 24 points to go along with nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

Saint Louis is back in action on Tuesday (Nov. 12), when it hosts Illinois State at Chaifetz Arena for a 7 p.m. tip. The Redbirds defeated Northwestern in their season opener on Wednesday.