NOTEBOOK (PDF)
Last week saw only three series take place due to COVID postponements or cancelations. Missouri State continues to sit at the top of the standings at 7-0 after having the Indiana State series cancelled. It marks the fifth time in program history the Lady Bears have won its first seven league games. (10-0 in 2018-19, 11-0 in 2003-04, 10-0 in 1999-00, 12-0 in 1995-96).
Drake moved into second place and sits 8-3 in league play after taking two over Loyola, pushing the Ramblers down to 5-4 in MVC play.
Illinois State and Bradley are currently tied for third in the standings at 7-4 after the Redbirds split at Southern Illinois and the Braves split at Valpo.
UNI owns a 5-4 record midway through its MVC schedule and had its series with Evansville postponed to Feb. 27-28. This is the active-league-high 11th year in a row where the Panthers have a winning mark through the first half of league play.
COVID Postponement
The Valley has postponed the Indiana State-Valparaiso women’s basketball series (Feb. 13-14) at Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind., due to positive COVID-19 test results among Indiana State’s Tier I personnel, which consists of student-athletes, coaches, managers and staff. The Conference will announce make-up dates for the series/games at a later date.
Elite Company
Missouri State is once again putting together an impressive NCAA Tournament resume. The Lady Bears join UConn, Stanford, South Carolina, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Arkansas as the only teams with at least five Quad 1 wins this season (as of Feb. 8). Missouri State is 9-2 vs. Quad 1 and 2 combined. Only Stanford, South Carolina, Louisville, Texas A&M, West Virginia, and Georgia Tech also combine for 9+ wins vs. Q1&2.
Only Stanford, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Missouri State have 5+ Q1 wins and 9+ vs. Q1&2.
Rise of The Valley
The 2019-20 season tied the highest RPI ranking the MVC has recorded in its history showcasing how The Valley is becoming one of the best mid-major leagues in the country. The league also saw five teams in the Top 100 of the RPI for the first time since the 1998-99 season. In 2018-19, the league posted a top-15 RPI for the first time since 2012-13 a year after seeing the league’s worst RPI in 2017-18 (24). The Valley is looking to match or surpass last year’s record numbers in 2020-21.
Year MVC RPI Top 100 RPI Teams
2020-21 8 (NET) 5 (NET)
2019-20 8 5
2018-19 14 3
2017-18 24 2
Conference NET
The Valley ranks 8th nationally in the conference NET report. The Valley sits behind the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, Big Ten, Big East and American entering this week.
The Valley finished the 2019-20 season with a league-best conference RPI of 8th.
NET Update
The latest installment of the NCAA NET Report (Feb. 8) has five Valley teams that rank in the top-90. Missouri State leads the way at No. 26 with Drake (44), UNI (71), Illinois State (77), and Bradley (89), rounding out the schools in the Top 90.
The Valley joins the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC as the only leagues nationally with five teams in the NET Top 90.
Polling
Missouri State reentered the AP Top 25 Poll this week and appear at No. 25. It marks the first time since March, 13, 2017 the MVC has a men’s and women’s team ranked in the AP Top 25 poll when Drake was No. 20 in the women’s poll and Wichita State No. 19 in the men’s poll. Loyola entered at No. 22 on the men’s side this week.
MSU improved to No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll (Feb. 2), marking its 28th-straight appearance in the poll.
Baranczyk Sets Drake Mark
Drake head coach Jennie Baranczyk surpassed Lisa Bluder for the most Valley wins in Drake history with a 75-46 win at Loyola. She passed UNI’s Tony DiCecco and into sixth place on The Valley chart with a 68-64 win over the Ramblers.
Most Coaching Wins (MVC games)
Name, School (Years) No.
Cheryl Burnett, Missouri State (1988-02) 201
Cindy Scott, Southern Illinois (1983-98) 199
Jill Hutchison, Illinois State (1983-99) 170
Tanya Warren, UNI (2008-present) 158
Jim Flanery, Creighton (2003-13) 131
Jennie Baranczyk, Drake (2013-present) 118
Tony DiCecco, UNI (1996-07) 117
Lisa Bluder, Drake (1991-00) 116
BU: Haack Moving On Up
Turning in the 22nd 20-point performance of her career, senior Gabi Haack moved into seventh on Bradley’s career scoring list with her game-high 20-point effort in Friday’s win at Valparaiso. Haack, who passed Heather Best (1,447 points – 1995-99) on BU’s all-time scoring chart, now has 1,453 career points and needs just nine points to pass Karin Nicholls (1986-90) for sixth in career scoring at Bradley. She is one of two players in the nation with 50 3’s, 50 made FT’s and 125 or more rebounds and the only player if you add in 35 assists.
Climbing the Chart
Bradley senior Gabi Haack sits in a tie for 13th in MVC history with 256 career triples after adding seven to her total over the weekend.
Haack is five triples from pushing her career total among the top 10 in the MVC.
MVC Career Three-Pointers
5. 266 - Lindsay Whorton, Drake 2004-08
6. 265 - Jenni Lingor, Missouri State 2002-05
7. 263 - Kelsey Luna, Indiana State 2006-10
8. 262 - Jaleshia Roberson, Missouri State 2008-12
9. 261 - Kelsey Woodard, Creighton 2007-11
261 - Jacqui Kalin, UNI 2007-10; 2012-13
11. 258 - Melody Howard, Missouri State 1991-94
258 - Becca Hittner, Drake 2016-20
13. 256 - Kourtney Mennen, Indiana State 1999-03
256 - Gabi Haack, Bradley 2017-present
DU: From Deep
Sophomore guard Sarah Beth Gueldner has continually provided a spark from beyond the arc this season for the Bulldogs especially during conference play. Gueldner was instrumental in the team’s second win over Loyola with a career-high 17 points as she finished a perfect 6-of-6 from the field, including 5-of-5 from three. It was the third perfect shooting night this season for the sophomore from Olathe, Kan. Gueldner has made at least one three-pointer in 12-straight games and 24 in league games, which is the second most among Valley players. Her career-high 40.8 percent from three ranks fourth in the MVC.
UE: Key to Success
After missing four games, junior A’Niah Griffin returned with a fury against Indiana State. Griffin scored 12 points and record four boards in her return for the Aces, aiding Evansville to a 70-63 OT win over the Sycamores. In games that Griffin has played more than 25 minutes in, the Aces are 5-2 and scoring an average of 66.3 points, shooting 44.9% from the field, and holding their opponents to 62.9 points per game. Without Griffin or with her limited to five or less minutes, Evansville is 0-6 and averaging just 50.3 points, while giving up 77.5 points, and is shooting just 32.6% from the field.
ILS: Lockdown Defense
The ‘Birds have held their opponents to under 40% shooting in 10 games and under 35% shooting in eight games this year. ISU is ranked first in the Valley and 22nd nationally in field goal percentage defense, limiting opposing teams to 35.1% (254-of-724) during the 2020-21 campaign.
INS: Getting After It
When the Sycamores return from their temporary pause, they resume as one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the Valley. ISU is currently second in the Valley, averaging 13.5 offensive rebounds per game and is led by Jamyra McChristine with an MVC-best 3.6 offensive boards per game.
LUC: Counting Cards
After completing a four-game homestand this past weekend, Loyola heads back out on the road for a pair of 6 p.m. matchups with Evansville on Friday and Saturday. Former founding members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, the Ramblers and Purple Aces will meet for the 40th and 41st times this weekend, a series in which Loyola owns a 27-12 (.692) advantage in. The Maroon & Gold have dominated the series of late, rattling off seven straight wins against Evansville, including regular-season sweeps in each of the last three years.
MSU: Road Warriors
Missouri State is 6-0 in true road games this season and one of five teams nationally to achieve at least six road victories without a loss as of Feb. 7. MSU’s current streak of seven consecutive road victories dating to last season is tied for the fifth-longest active streak in Division I. The Lady Bears are 27-4 in their last 31 road contests overall, and 20-2 in Valley road games over the last three calendar years.
UNI: 399 & Counting
Entering this week’s games, UNI owns a 399-game three-pointer streak that began December 6, 2008 versus Green Bay. The streak is the longest active streak among all current Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball programs.
SIU: Defense Leads Way
SIU held off the Illinois State Redbirds for a 43-41 win on Feb. 6. The Redbirds, who came into the weekend ranked second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 71.8 points per game scoring average, were held to a season-low 41 points. It was not only a season-low scoring output for Illinois State, but it was their fewest points scored in a game since Nov. 10, 2019. Southern also held Illinois State without a three-pointer, which was the first time in almost a year (2/21/20) that SIU has held its opponent with a trey. The victory for Southern snapped its six-game losing streak and gave the Salukis their first win over the Redbirds since 2017.
VALPO: A Historic Game
Valpo’s win on Thursday over Bradley was a historic game for a pair of reasons. The Brown and Gold matched their program single-game record with 17 made 3-pointers, the third time in program history they’ve connected on 17 triples in a game. The 17 3-pointers helped Valpo overcome three separate double-digit deficits over the course of the victory - going back 20 years, Valpo had never erased even two separate double-figure deficits in a win.
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Player and Newcomer of the Week are Bradley's Gabi Haack and Drake's Grace Berg.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Gabi Haack, Sr., G, Bradley
Haack averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in a series against Valparaiso. She shot 54.5 percent from the field and was 7-for-15 from three-point range in the two outings against the Crusaders. Haack had 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists in the opener against Valparaiso Thursday. She returned the next night to score a game-high 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting and also had five boards and one assist, moving into seventh in career scoring at Bradley with her 22nd career 20-point effort. Haack also became the 15th player in MVC history with 250 career three-pointers and climbed into a tie for 13th in league history at 256 career triples.
Other Notable Performances: Grace Berg (DU); Ellie Rice (LUC); Makenzie Silvey (SIU); Shay Frederick (VALPO)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Grace Berg, RSo., F, Drake
Grace Berg helped Drake sweep Loyola on the road this past weekend. Berg averaged 16.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals while shooting 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the floor. In the first game, she scored a game-high 15 points and pulled down four rebounds while setting new career-highs with five assists and four steals. In the finale, Berg scored 17 points and added six rebounds and two steals. She and Maddie Monahan teamed up to make a great defensive play on Loyola’s Ellie Rice in the game’s final seconds, forcing her to miss a layup with the Bulldogs clinging to a two-point lead. Berg is second in the MVC in scoring with a career-high 16.6 clip while shooting a league-best 53.2 percent from the floor.
Other Notable Performances: Terrion Moore (ILS); Sitori Tanin (LUC); Adrianna Katcher (SIU); Lauren Gunn (VALPO)