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Lady Bears Maintain Lead
Missouri State won their 17th consecutive league contest, tying for the second-best streak at MSU and fifth-longest in league history. It’s also the fourth time Missouri State has started 10-0 or better in Valley play. The Lady Bears hold a half game lead over second place Drake (10-1) in the MVC standings.
Consecutive MVC Wins
1. 47, Drake 2/26/16 to 2/1/19
2. 37, Southern Illinois 3/6/85 to 12/30/87
3. 24, Missouri State 1/9/99 to 2/5/00
4. 19, UNI 3/6/10 to 3/5/11
5. 17, Illinois State 2/27/88 to 3/1/89
17, Missouri State 1/11/92 to 1/10/93
17, Missouri State 2/9/18 to present
One of the Best
Missouri State’s 13-game win streak ranks as the second longest active streak in the nation. The Lady Bears streak sits behind Oregon’s streak of 16-game win streak. During the win streak MSU is outscoring and outrebounding its opponents by a +15.1 scoring and +12.0 rebounding margin.
Longest Active Winning Streaks (NCAA)
16 - Oregon
13 - Baylor, Missouri State & Rice
Best Starts in MVC History?
Missouri State sits 10-0 and is within striking distance of becoming the sixth team to begin a season during the MVC era with a 12-0 mark. Below is a look at the 12-0 league starts in the MVC era:
Rec Team-Year Loss Final
18-0 Drake (2017-18) N/A 1st (18-0)
18-0 Drake (2016-17) N/A 1st (18-0)
12-0 MSU (1995-96) at ILS 1st (16-2)
12-0 INS (2005-06) at MSU 1st (16-2)
12-0 WSU (2013-14) at UNI T-1st (14-4)
Lasha’s Reggie Miller Moment
Bradley trailed Indiana State by 17 points closing in on four minutes to play, when Lasha Petree scored 13 points and came away with three steals in a 46-second span to highlight a 21-3 closing spurt which gave the Braves an 81-80 victory. Petree hit four three-pointers and added a free throw for a personal 13-0 run during a closing stretch in which Bradley erased a 17-point deficit. The Braves swept the regular-season series from Indiana State for the first time since 1995-96.
Leading the Pack
Drake’s Sara Rhine and Becca Hittner currently rank as the top two scorers in The Valley, ranking No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. Hittner is averaging 19.8 points per game, while Rhine is averaging 19.6 a contest. Only one time in the league’s history has a teammate tandem finished the season ranking No. 1 and 2 as Drake’s Wanda Ford (24.2 ppg) and Julie Fitzpatrick (23.1 ppg) led the way during the 1984-85 season.
It would also mark the sixth-straight season a Bulldog has led the MVC in scoring (Kyndal Clark in 2014, Lizzy Wendell from 2015-17 and Becca Hittner in 2018), which is the longest stretch a school has led that statistic in league history. Twice has a school led for four-straight seasons (Drake from 1983-86 with Lorri Bauman and Wanda Ford; Missouri State from 1998-01 with Jackie Stiles). UNI’s Jacqui Kalin is the last non-Bulldog to lead the MVC in scoring back in the 2013 season.
In Valley men’s hoops, an individual from the same school has led the league in scoring five-straight seasons on two occasions. Evansville is riding a current five-year stretch, while Bradley also accomplished the feat from 1987-91.
Chasing History
Currently, Drake is averaging 81.3 points per game, ranking 12th nationally. The all-time Valley record for scoring was set in 1995 as Drake averaged 83.5 ppg. The Bulldogs have led The Valley in scoring each of the past four seasons. No team has ever led the league in scoring five-straight years (Drake also led from 1995-1998), including on the men’s side where only Bradley (1986-89) and Southern Illinois (1990-93) have led for four-straight seasons.
Top 6 in Valley History (Scoring)
1. Drake (1995) 83.5
2. Missouri State (2001) 82.8
3. Bradley (1983) 82.7
4. Drake (2018) 82.4
5. Drake (2017) 82.2
6. Drake (2019) 81.3
The Bulldogs are also shooting 47.9% from the field this season, ranking 10th nationally. Drake has led The Valley in shooting percentage each of the past four seasons. Only once in league history has a team led the conference five-straight years (Missouri State from 1990-94)
Redbirds Heating Up
Illinois State has been shooting its best in the previous three games and is reaping the benefits, going 3-0. The squad has averaged 54.5 percent from the floor in the last three games, setting a season-best of 59 percent against Valparaiso. Simone Goods has led the way adding a combined 65 points in the last three contests, making 24-of-38 (63.2) from the field.
Retiring #22
Indiana State will honor one of the Valley’s all-time greats on Friday, Feb. 15 when the Sycamores will retire the No. 22 jersey of Melanie Boeglin. The only player in league history to be named both Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the same season, Boeglin was an All-American that still holds several school records at Indiana State.
Strength of Schedule
Drake, Missouri State and UNI tested themselves with a difficult non-conference schedule this season. According to WarrenNolan.com, the Bulldogs played the third toughest non-conference strength of schedule this season, while the Lady Bears’ non-league schedule ranks 48th and Panthers 57th nationally.
The RPI Ratings Game
The latest installment of the NCAA RPI Report (Feb. 11) has six Valley teams that rank in the top-175, led by Drake at No. 21, followed by Missouri State (63), UNI (83), Bradley (155), Southern Illinois (160) and Indiana State (174). The MVC ranks 13th among 32 conferences. The league ranking is the highest for the league since the 2013 season (finished 10th).
Sharp Shooters
A year after seeing Evansville lead the nation in free-throw percentage (82.0%), The Valley has three of the nation’s top 25 teams in the category so far this season. Evansville currently leads the league and sits 10th nationally, while Loyola sits 13th and UNI 22nd.
Loyola’s Abby O’Connor leads The Valley and ranks No. 7 nationally hitting 91.7% of her attempts. In 2012-13, UNI’s Jacqui Kalin set the MVC record with a percentage of 95.5% for a season.
As a conference, The Valley sits second nationally with a combined FT% of 71.6%.
Free-Throw Percentage (By Conference)
1. Summit 72.9%
2. Missouri Valley 71.6%
3. Pac 12 71.4%
4. Big East 71.3%
5. ACC 70.8%