NOTEBOOK (PDF)
Three Perfect in MVC Play
Drake (2-0), Missouri State (2-0) and Loyola (1-0) remain perfect after the first weekend of league play. The three teams will put their undefeated MVC records on the line this weekend as Drake hosts Loyola and Valparaiso and Missouri State hosts Southern Illinois.
1,000 Point Club
Drake’s Sammie Bachrodt became the sixth active MVC player and 33rd Bulldog to join the 1,000 Point Club. Bachrodt’s 11 points against Bradley allowed her to become the fourth active Bulldog player to enter the club. The four active players are second nationally behind Marquette and Notre Dame (each with five).
Current MVC Players in 1,000 Point Club
1,349 - Maddy Dean, Drake
1,299 - Sara Rhine, Drake
1,150 - Becca Hittner, Drake
1,131 - Meredith Hamlet, Valparaiso
1,130 - Ellie Howell, UNI
1,013 - Sammie Bachrodt, Drake
MVC Players Approaching 1,000 Points
883 - Becca Jonas, Drake
Valley Streak
Drake has the longest win streak in the history of the Gateway/MVC for regular season contests, winning 42-straight. The impressive streak started Feb. 26, 2016 with a win over Loyola. The Bulldogs broke SIU’s 37 game streak from 1985-1987 during the Gateway era with a win over Illinois State last season. The streak is the second longest active streak against conference opponents, trailing only UConn’s streak of 117 straight wins in the American.
Strength of Schedule
Drake and Missouri State tested themselves with a difficult non-conference schedule. The Bulldogs played the third toughest non-conference strength of schedule this season (2nd overall toughest schedule), while the Lady Bears’ schedule ranked 33rd nationally.
Double Your Pleasure
Bradley’s Chelsea Brackmann is the only MVC player averaging a double-double this season. The junior is averaging 11.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game (leads MVC, 17th nationally). Brackmann has six double-doubles on the season. Below are players with four or more double-doubles this season.
No. Player, Team
6 Abby Brockmeyer, Southern Illinois
Chelsea Brackmann, Bradley
Sara Rhine, Drake
4 Simone Goods, Illinois State
Sharp Shooters
A year after seeing Evansville lead the nation in free-throw percentage (82.0%), The Valley has two of the nation’s top five teams in the category so far this season. Loyola currently leads the league and sits 3rd nationally, while UNI sits 5th.
Loyola’s Abby O’Connor leads The Valley and ranks No. 2 nationally hitting 94.3% of her attempts. In 2012-13, UNI’s Jacqui Kalin set the MVC record with a percentage of 95.5% for a season.
Free-Throw Percentage
1. Virginia Tech 80.5%
2. Colorado State 80.2%
3. Loyola 79.9%
4. Oregon 79.8%
5. UNI 79.1%
The RPI Ratings Game
The latest installment of the NCAA RPI Report (Jan. 7) has seven Valley teams that rank in the top-175, led by Drake at No. 10, followed by UNI (63), Indiana State (135), Missouri State (143), Southern Illinois (150), Illinois State (167) and Bradley (174). The MVC ranks 13th among 32 conferences.
Poll Position
Drake continues to receive votes in this week’s Associated Press women’s Top 25 poll and USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll. The Bulldogs received two votes in the AP poll, while receiving nine votes in the coaches poll.
Taking Care of the Ball
SIU’s Brittney Patrick currently leads The Valley, and ranks 8th nationally, in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.40). Patrick’s 5.2 assists per game also leads the MVC and ranks 45th nationally while she also leads the league in total assists (68). SIU has only once had a player lead the league in assists per game (Cartaesha Macklin, 2013) and Patrick’s 3.40 assist-to-turnover ratio would be a school record and would be the highest ratio in the MVC since at least the 2002-03 season.
Sharing the Rock
Over the past five seasons, Drake has ranked in the top 10 every season in the NCAA in assists per game, including leading the nation a year ago. The Bulldogs are once again sharing the basketball as they enter the week No. 2 in the country averaging 22.3 assists per contest.
Assists Per Game
1. Baylor 23.3
2. Drake 22.3
3. Iowa 22.0
4. Oregon 21.3
5. Michigan State 20.9
Pounding the Glass
Bradley’s Chelsea Brackmann highlighted Sunday’s overtime contest against UNI with just the third 20-20 performance in school history. Brackmann, who scored a season-best 22 points, tied the Bradley single-game record with 24 rebounds.
Brackmann’s 24 boards are the second most in the country this season and tied for the fifth most in MVC history. No MVC player has collected 24 rebounds in a game since 2009 and she had the first 20-20 effort in a conference game dating back to a 26-point, 21-rebound performance by Dyana Pierre (SIU) vs. Northern Iowa on Feb. 8, 2015. The last 20-20 effort by a Bradley player was Shelli Braud at UNI on Jan. 17, 1988 (32 points & 21 reb.).
Rebounds in Single Game (MVC Record)
1. 30 - Wanda Ford, Drake 2/16/85 vs. Eastern Illinois
2. 28 - Stephany Neptune, Southern Ill. 12/19/09 vs. Murray State
3. 25 - Wanda Ford, Drake 1/23/86 at Missouri State
25 - Wanda Ford, Drake 2/20/86 vs. Wichita State
5. 24 - 5 times last by Chelsea Brackmann, Bradley (1/6/19 vs. UNI)