NOTEBOOK (PDF)
Statement Win
No. 24/25 Missouri State out-scored No. 11/12 Maryland by 25 points over the game’s final 21 minutes Saturday, overcoming a 43-27 deficit late in the first half for an 81-72 victory over the Terrapins at the Gulf Coast Showcase. The 9-point margin of victory is the largest by a Valley team in the regular season over a Top 15 AP team since the Lady Bears beat No. 10 LSU 85-75 on Nov. 24, 2000. The win was also MSU’s fifth top-25 victory since March 2019 and marks the eighth consecutive season that Missouri State has defeated a Power Five program.
Another Season Opening Win
With the win over its former MVC rival, Creighton, on Nov. 25, Drake has won its past six season openers. The impressive season opening-game streak started for the Bulldogs on Nov. 15, 2015 when they beat Iowa State, 74-70. The victory over the Bluejays was third-straight for the Bulldogs in the series. It was also the second time the former league rivals started a season against each other with the previous meeting coming on Nov. 8, 2013 with Drake winning 62-55. That 2013 game was the first year Creighton joined the BIG EAST Conference.
Win Over Old Rival
Karli Rucker led the way with 12 points, but for the second-straight game, every Panther that played scored as UNI held off Creighton for the 55-52 home win Saturday. The Panthers have won three of the last five meetings with Creighton in the series.
Off and Running
Loyola opened the season with a 70-57 road win over Chicago State. Sitori Tanin led a quartet of Ramblers to reach double figures in scoring with a game-high 16 points in her collegiate debut, while Ellie Rice recorded her first career double-double, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds. After defeating Detroit Mercy to begin the 2019-20 campaign, Loyola has now won its regular-season opener in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons.
Redbirds Pause Team Activities
The first three games of the regular season for Illinois State were canceled due to limited roster numbers in conjunction with COVID-19 testing protocols. Games affected included road games at Northern Illinois (11/25) and Tulsa (11/28) and a home game versus Dayton (12/2). A decision on safely resuming team activities will be made in the days to come following additional discussions and medical testing.
SIU COVID Shutdown
Southern Illinois women’s basketball coach Cindy Stein announced on Friday that the team had one player test positive for COVID-19, and due to contract tracing and subsequent quarantines, the Salukis did not have the minimum eight players required for Sunday’s previously scheduled game at Memphis. SIU began a 7-day pause until re-testing could take place and canceled their appearance at next weekend’s Compass Challenge hosted by Eastern Illinois.
Elite Shooting
In just her second game of her Sycamore career, Essy Latu put on an offensive show to help lead the Sycamores to victory over Detroit Mercy. Latu connected on 6-of-12 triples, including 7-of-13 from the field overall, to lead ISU with 21 points. Her six threes are the fifth-best mark in the NCAA through opening week and the best outing since Del’Janae Williams connected on five from deep at Illinois Chicago on Nov. 19, 2019.
Looking to Reverse Course
Evansville played a couple of close contests last season with its two season-opening opponents this week. Last season, the Aces fell to Murray State and Purdue Fort Wayne by a combined five points with both games being one on a shot in the final 30 seconds.
New Bradley Record
Senior Gabi Haack broke Bradley’s career three-point field goal mark in Wednesday’s season-opening victory against Kansas City. Haack, who topped Katie Yohn’s (2009-13) previous school mark of 210 career triples, broke the mark with her fifth and final trey of the contest late in the third quarter vs. the Roos. She hit four second-half three-pointers, scoring 16 of her 19 points in the final 20 minutes. Haack now has 11 career outings in which she has made at least five three-pointers. Owning 213 career three-pointers, Haack currently sits eight three-pointers from catching Jackie Stiles for 25th in MVC history in three-point makes.
MVC Career Three-Pointers
Rank Name (Years) 3FGM
23. Kristi Cirone, ILS (2005-09) 229
24. Katie Broadway, ILS (2008-12) 225
25. Jackie Stiles, MSU (1998-01) 221
Gabi Haack, Bradley (2017-present) 213
Tough Tests
Valpo’s challenging nonconference slate features back-to-back road games at Big Ten foes this week, as the Crusaders travel to Illinois on Wednesday and Purdue on Sunday. This marks the first time that Valpo has played consecutive games against Big Ten opponents since opening the 2006-07 campaign with games at Northwestern and at Indiana.
Polling
Missouri State moved up three spots to No. 21 in Monday’s AP Top 25 poll after earning a win over No. 12 Maryland Saturday.
MSU appeared No. 25 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll last week. The updated rankings will be released Tuesday. With their inclusion in the preseason poll, the Lady Bears have appeared in 19 consecutive releases of the coaches’ rankings, tying a school record set by the 2000-01 team. It’s also Missouri State’s first preseason ranking by the coaches since 2000, when they began the year rated 21st.
Power Five Up Ahead
This week, the MVC schedule features four more games against Power Five schools, including Iowa at Drake, Drake at Minnesota, Valpo at Illinois and Valpo at Purdue. The conference sits 1-3 against Power Five opponents after the first week of play as Missouri State beat #12/11 Maryland. Last season, the MVC earned nine wins over members of Power Five conferences during the regular season.
Mid-Major Top-25 Poll
Missouri State, Drake and Bradley appear in the preseason (Nov. 25) CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. The Lady Bears sit atop the poll at No. 1, while Drake sits 13th and Bradley 14th. UNI is also receiving votes.
1,000 Point Club
The Valley has four active players in the 1,000 point club. Brice Calip became the 29th member of Missouri State’s 1,000-point club on Friday against Florida Gulf Coast. The senior guard ended the weekend tied for 26th on the scoring list with 1,045 career points.
Current MVC Players in 1,000 Point Club
1,195 - Makenzie Silvey, Southern Illinois
1,194 - Gabi Haack, Bradley
1,050 - Karli Rucker, UNI
1,045 - Brice Calip, Missouri State
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Player and Newcomer of the Week are Missouri State's Brice Calip and Drake's Grace Berg.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Brice Calip, Sr., G, Missouri State
Missouri State’s Brice Calip averaged 17 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while earning all-tournament honors at the Gulf Coast Showcase. The senior scored a career-high 26 points in Saturday’s victory against No. 12/11 Maryland, guiding the Lady Bears to an 81-72 victory after trailing by 16 late in the first half. Maryland is the highest-ranked team MSU has defeated since No. 5 Duke in the 2001 Sweet 16. Calip began the year with an efficient 10 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes in MSU’s victory at Atlantic Sun favorite Florida Gulf Coast, surpassing 1,000 career points in the process. On Sunday versus Wake Forest, Calip tallied 15 points, four assists and three boards.
Other Notable Performances: Lasha Petree (BRAD); Maddie Monahan (DU); Jamyra McChristine (INS); Ellie Rice (LUC); Kam Finley (UNI); Rachel Pudlowski (SIU); Grace White (VALPO)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Grace Berg, R-So., F, Drake
Drake redshirt sophomore Grace Berg poured in a career-high 24 points in her debut in the win over Creighton. The Indianola native and Missouri transfer finished 10-of-18 from the floor with two three-pointers, added seven rebounds and dished three assists. Berg followed that with 10 points and three rebounds in the Bulldogs’ loss at Green Bay.
Other Notable Performances: Tete Danso (BRAD); Essy Latu (INS); Sitori Tanin (LUC); Abi Jackson (MSU); Emerson Green (UNI); Quierra Love (SIU); Leah Earnest (VALPO)