NOTEBOOK (PDF)
Power Five Ahead
Drake has three Power Five wins on its resume as the Bulldogs have beaten South Carolina, Rutgers and Nebraska so far this season. The conference sits 3-7 against Power Five opponents with all of the games taking place on the road or a neutral court. This week, the MVC schedule features two games against Power Five schools, including Drake at Iowa State and UNI at #16 Iowa. The MVC earned four wins over members of Power Five conferences a year ago.
Vs. Top 25
Last season, the MVC went 0-9 against Top 25 opponents, breaking a streak of three-straight years with at least one win over a Top 25 team. Drake earned a 90-85 overtime win over No. 12/13 South Carolina in Vancouver in November. It was the highest ranked win over an opponent in the regular season by a Valley team since Missouri State beat No. 10 LSU on November 24, 2000. The league currently sits 1-4 vs. the Top 25 this year as two more chances to claim a win occur on Sunday. UNI will travel to #16 Iowa, while Missouri State will host #21 Gonzaga.
The last time the MVC recorded two wins against the Top 25 was during the 2002-03 season (Drake vs. No. 18 Iowa State & UNI vs. No. 24 Iowa State).
Still Perfect
Bradley remained the only undefeated team in the MVC with an 82-68 win over Western Illinois last week. Bradley improved to 7-0 on the year and is one of only 18 teams in the nation with a perfect record. The Braves join UConn, Northeastern, Ohio, Portland State and South Alabama as the only Non-Power Five teams to sit unblemished. The Braves are 7-0 for just the second time in program history, joining the 2001-02 squad (9-0) as the only Bradley teams to win their first seven games of a season.
Rambler Run
Loyola saw its four-game winning streak brought to an end in a 65-41 loss to Purdue on Sunday in West Lafayette. The Ramblers shot just over 45 percent from the field during the tear, outscoring opponents by an average of 18.5 points as they clinched the program’s first winning record through non-conference play since the 2011-12 campaign.
The New Girl Can Score
Bradley’s Lasha Petree is the league’s top scoring freshman, averaging 16.7 points per game to rank third overall in the MVC. Through games of Dec. 9, she currently ranks 4th nationally among all NCAA Division I freshmen.
The last MVC freshman to average over 16.0 points per game was Drake’s Lizzy Wednell and Evansville’s Sara Dickey during the 2013-14 season.
Top Scoring MVC Freshman (PPG)
20.6 Jackie Stiles, Missouri State (1997-98)
17.6 Sara Dickey, Evansville (2013-14)
16.8 Lizzy Wendell, Drake (2013-14)
16.7 Lasha Petree, Bradley (2018-19)
16.5 Cartaesha Macklin, Southern Illinois (2011-12)
15.9 Casey Garrison, Missouri State (2008-09)
15.5 Kourtney Mennen, Indiana State (1999-00)
14.7 Kari Koch, Missouri State (2002-03)
14.3 Carla Bennett, Drake (1997-98)
14.3 Tammi Blackstone, Drake (1996-97)
14.2 Angela Buckner, Wichita State (2000-01)
Compass Challenge Champs
The Salukis defeated Eastern and Northern Illinois en route to being crowned the inaugural Compass Challenge champions. SIU shot a season-best 46.7% (14-of-30) from three-point range in the win over Northern- which were the most treys in a game in the Cindy Stein era and SIU’s most since a January 5, 2013 win over Drake. Southern followed with a wire-to-wire win over Eastern to improve to 4-0 at home this season. Makenzie Silvey, who averaged 19.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in SIU’s two wins, was named Tournament MVP while Abby Brockmeyer and Kristen Nelson earned spots on the Compass Challenge All-Tournament Team.
Home Sweet Home
Currently six MVC teams remain unbeaten at home: Bradley (5-0), Loyola (4-0), Southern Illinois (4-0), Drake (3-0), Illinois State (3-0) and UNI (3-0) have unblemished records on their home courts this season. The Valley currently holds a 25-9 mark at home this season.
Poll Position
Drake dropped out of the latest Associated Press women’s Top 25 poll. The Bulldogs fell on the road at South Dakota State and are currently sitting as the first team in the receiving votes list with 39 points. Drake remained in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll at No. 25 this week. Drake’s next game is at Iowa State on Sunday who is also receiving votes in both polls this week.
The RPI Ratings Game
The latest installment of the NCAA RPI Report (Dec. 10) has six Valley teams that rank in the top-175, led by Drake at No. 9, followed by UNI (103), Bradley (111), Indiana State (125), Southern Illinois (162) and Loyola (171). The MVC ranks 14th among 32 conferences.