By Ellie Lieberman (MVC Intern)

There is no other way to describe the 2019-2020 season as anything but historic for the MVC’s women’s basketball teams. Three teams finished with 20+ wins, with Missouri State finishing the season with a high of 26 and a national No. 19 ranking, and Drake and Bradley behind with 22 wins respectively. Approaching the MVC Tournament, there was a very likely chance of the MVC receiving multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament due to the three-headed machine at top. However, all dreams crashed to the ground with the full force of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Missouri State head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, more commonly known as “Coach Mox,” surpassed records in her rookie season as head coach, leading the Bears to a 15-0 record at home, and tremendous battles on the road, including a win against a ranked Minnesota team.  Coach Mox's 26 wins set a Valley record for a rookie head coach. 
 
Drake and Bradley were both vying for a conference championship, and nearly succeeded in throwing off Missouri State during the regular season. Drake will look to replace Becca Hittner and Sara Rhine who each eclipsed 2,000 career points, but every team is feeling the loss of seniors who never got a full taste of March. Bradley loses top three scorer and top rebounder Chelsea Brackmann, and head coach Andrea Gorski mentions that the team will need to bind together to replace her “intangibles.”
 
UNI is picked to finish third in the preseason poll and will look to challenge in the MVC title race.  The Panthers recorded their 11^th-straight season with at least 17 wins a year ago and return four starters including preseason All-MVC selection Karli Rucker.  UNI beat Iowa, Iowa State and Drake in the same season for the first-time last year and were in position to make the postseason.
 
Many coaches mentioned the difficulties of the “what ifs,” of never knowing where the season may have gone had it continued.
 
“We played the whole season for March,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “When we actually got to March, that was devastating.”
 
Beyond just the capacity of never knowing how far each team could’ve gone in the MVC Tournament and possibly NCAA Tournament is also the speed and uncertainty that came with the cancelled postseason. Illinois State head coach, Kristen Gillespie said it best:
 
“It’s a challenge when you’re on the bus and ready to play the conference tournament and then you get the call that it’s been cancelled, and a couple of hours later, you find out the NCAA Tournament has been cancelled."
 
The frontrunner Lady Bears can relate. They lost their leading scorer and a cornerstone of the team in Alexa Willard, who averaged 16 points per game, but in replacing the talent they have worked to represent the seniors they’ve lost as best as possible.
 
“Once the pandemic hit, it was a different message for our players, make the days count, stay present, enjoy the journey,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “Obviously we’re gonna channel the disappointment we had last season and fuel our fire.”
 
And do that, they have. The Lady Bears beat No. 11 Maryland to kick off the season and will attempt to carry their hot streak into this conference season. They return key pieces in Jasmine Franklin and Brice Calip and add Auburn transfer Abi Jackson. Drake and UNI hold a key win against Creighton, and Bradley expects to be right in the thick of things this year as well. With key returns from preseason All-MVC selections Gabi Haack and Lasha Petree, the Braves also have the chance to make a run this year. In fact, Lasha said her only expectation for the season is an MVC ring.
 
A shared sentiment of hunger of what was lost and what is still to come is echoed through the heavyweights in the Missouri Valley Conference. But make no mistake, every team in the conference is vying not only for a conference championship, but a chance at redemption.