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At the Turn...
At the halfway point in the MVC schedule, Missouri State sits in first-place with an 8-1 mark. Drake and Bradley are tied for the second spot at 7-2, while UNI, Southern Illinois and Illinois State occupy the No. 4 spot in the standings at 5-4 in league play.
It is the 11th time in MSU history that the Lady Bears have won at least eight of its first nine Valley games. On the previous 10 occasions, Missouri State has gone on to win seven regular season titles and finish second three times.
Winning at Halfway Point
Over the past 17 seasons, teams that have won or shared the regular-season title in the MVC have reached the halfway point of the league season with at least eight wins 15 times (16 total teams). Four times – DU in 2008, CU in 2003 and MSU in 2012 and 1999 – teams have had as many as three losses and gone on to the regular-season title.
2,000 Point Club
Drake’s Sara Rhine tallied 13 points in the Bulldogs win over Valpo Friday to bring her career scoring total to 2,001. Rhine becomes the ninth player in Valley women’s basketball history to reach the 2,000-point mark, joining Missouri State’s Jackie Stiles (3,393), Drake’s Wanda Ford (2,636), Drake’s Lizzy Wendell (2,551), Missouri State’s Casey Garrison (2,271), Illinois State’s Kristi Cirone (2,139), Evansville’s Sara Dickey (2,099), Missouri State’s Kari Koch (2,073) and UNI’s Jacqui Kalin (2,054).
1,000 Point Club
The Valley now has eight active players in the 1,000 point club. Valpo’s Grace Hales entered the club with 15 points in the loss at Drake Friday. Hales is one of just 16 players in program history to score 1,000 career points and is just the fourth to reach the milestone since 2009.
Bradley’s Chelsea Brackmann enters the week six points shy of 1,000, sitting at 994.
Sara Rhine sits fourth on the NCAA career scoring chart, while Hittner sits seventh. Rhine and Hittner are the second highest teammate career scoring tandem in the country behind Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard.
The Streak is Over
Indiana State ended their 16-game losing streak, the third-longest in the country, on Friday night when they took down in-state rival Evansville, 68-58. The victory marked their first win since Nov. 19 at UIC and moved the Sycamores to ninth place in the Valley. ISU also had their best performance from behind the three-point line on Friday, knocking down a season-high nine triples.
RPI Update
The latest installment of the NCAA RPI Report (Feb. 4) has six Valley teams that rank in the top-100, including four in the top 55. Missouri State sits No. 9 in the RPI, Drake comes in at No. 28, UNI No. 51 and Bradley No. 53. Illinois State (71) and Southern Illinois (80) also appear in the Top 100 with Loyola Chicago just outside at No. 117.
The Valley joins the Power Five leagues and the Big East as the only leagues to have six or more Top 100 teams.
Historic Conference RPI
The Valley ranks seventh nationally in the NCAA’s conference RPI report (Feb. 4). The Valley sits behind the Pac-12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Big 12 and Big East entering this week.
The Valley record for RPI in a season is 8th (2011).
Conference RPI
1. Pac-12
2. Big Ten
3. Big 12
4. SEC
5. ACC
6. Big East
7. Missouri Valley
8. Ivy League
9. American
10. MAC
Home Sweet Home
Four MVC teams continue to remain unbeaten at home entering the week: Bradley (9-0), Drake (10-0), Missouri State (10-0) and UNI (8-0) have unblemished records on their home courts this season.
The Valley currently has two teams with a home win streak of 15 or more. Drake extended its streak to 16-straight over the weekend, sitting behind only Baylor (51) and Iowa (32). Bradley’s school record 15-game streak sits tied for 7th nationally.
UNI is off to an 8-0 start at home for the second time in program history (10-0 start in 1980-81). UNI is one of four schools at the NCAA Division I level with undefeated home records for men’s and women’s basketball teams joining Baylor, Gonzaga, and Oregon.
First Year Success
Missouri State first-year head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton has moved into a tie for fifth place on The Valley coaching list for most wins in a first year. Coach Mox’s 18 wins is tied for fifth with Missouri State’s Katie Abrahamson-Henderson during the 2002-03 season.
Creighton’s Jim Flanery (2002-03) and Drake’s Lisa Stone (2000-01) each won a share of the regular season MVC title during their first year at the helm.
Mid-Major Top-25 Poll
Bradley, Drake, Illinois State and Missouri State all appear in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 (Jan. 28). The Lady Bears sit fifth in the poll, while Bradley sits 11th, Drake 13th and Illinois State 25th. UNI and Loyola are also receiving votes. The Valley is the only conference with four teams ranked in the poll.
ESPN Bracketology
The latest ESPN.com women’s basketball bracketology from Charlie Creme (Feb. 4) has two MVC teams in the field of 64. Missouri State is a No. 6 seed playing St. John’s in Corvallis, while Drake is a No. 9 seed playing Tennessee in Eugene. Bradley is listed among the “Next Four Out”. The MVC is one of nine leagues receiving multiple bids.
Poll Position
Missouri State remained in this week’s AP Top 25 Poll, coming in at No. 24 once again this week.
The Lady Bears continue to appear in the latest USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll, sitting at No. 19 this week.