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Neutral Colors
For the 14th-straight season, the Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament will be played at a neutral site after using institutional home arenas as hosts for the first 22 league tournaments.
Valley Postseason History
The MVC has seen an average of four league teams participate in postseason play in the last 21 seasons where postseason action took place, including three teams reaching postseason play in 2018-19. Before the 2019-20 season was cut short due to COVID-19, the MVC was in position to send 5 or 6 teams to postseason play. The Valley has earned multiple NCAA Tournament bids in 12 different seasons, including two out of the last three seasons (not counting 2019-20).
Best Spot
The top seed has won the conference tournament in 19 of 33 seasons and a team that has won or shared the regular-season title has gone on to win the tournament title 22 times. Top seeds have six runner-up finishes.
Teams seeded No. 2 have won the tournament six times (including Missouri State in 2019) and finished as the runner-up 12 times.
Missouri State was the first No. 3 seed to win the tournament title in 2016. The No. 3 seed has been a runner-up nine times.
Teams seeded No. 4 have won three times, while the No. 8 seed has won twice. Seeds No. 5 (UNI, 2010), No. 7 (Missouri State, 2006) and No. 9 (Evansville, 2009) have won the tournament just once.
Worst Spot
Seeds No. 6 and No. 10 have yet to win an MVC Tournament. Teams seeded sixth have just one runner-up finish. The No. 10 seed has won just three MVC Tournament games in league history (No. 10 Wichita State defeated No. 7 Missouri State in 2009, 52-51; No. 10 Southern Illinois defeated No. 7 Evansville in 2013, 83-74 in overtime; No. 10 Evansville defeated No. 7 Illinois State in 2016, 61-59 ot).
Chalk It Up
Since the league moved to a neutral-site tournament in St. Charles in 2007-08, just four times have the top-four seeds in the bracket advanced to semifinal Saturday of the championship – in 2013, the bracket produced chalk with top-four seeds Wichita State, Creighton, Illinois State and UNI – in 2008 (Illinois State, Evansville, Drake and Creighton) - 2016 (UNI, Drake, Missouri State and Southern Illinois) and 2018 (Drake, Missouri State, UNI and Southern Illinois).
Three of the top-four seeds advanced to Saturday in 2009, 2015 and 2019, while only two of the top-four seeds advanced in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2017.
When They’re All Here
Here’s a look at how teams have fared, by seed, since the tournament expanded to include all 10 teams in 2006:
Seed W L Best Result
No. 1 27 8 08, 11, 13, 15 , 17 & 18 Champion
No. 2 17 12 2014 and 2019 Champion
No. 3 17 13 2016 Champion
No. 4 11 13 2012 Champion
No. 5 8 13 2010 Champion
No. 6 5 14 2007 Final
No. 7 18 13 2006 Champion
No. 8 9 14 2007 Champion
No. 9 11 13 2009 Champion
No. 10 3 14 2009 & 2013 Quarterfinal
Unlikely Repeat
Just seven times in conference history has there been a repeat winner of the MVC Tournament. Missouri State won four-straight titles from 1991 through 1994, while Wichita State won three consecutive titles from 2013-15. Drake won back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998 and 2017 and 2018, Missouri State repeated in 2003 and 2004 and UNI accomplished the feat in 2010 and 2011.
Title Town
The league has had nine different regular-season champions in the past 15 seasons (SIU-2007, DU/UE/ILS-2008, ILS-2009, ILS-2010, UNI-2011; MSU-2012; WSU/CU-2013; INS/WSU-2014; WSU-2015; UNI-2016; DU-2017; DU-2018; DU-2019; MSU-2020, MSU-2021). Bradley, Loyola and Valparaiso are the only league teams not to have won a regular-season MVC championship.
Top Five Finishes
UNI is the only Valley team to have finished in the top-five of the league standings for the past 12 seasons. The Panthers won the MVC in 2010-11 (17-1) and 2015-16 (15-3), finished in second place once (2016-17, 15-3), finished in third place three times (2013-14, 13-5; 2017-18, 13-5; 2018-19, 12-6), had three fourth-place finishes (2014-15, 12-6; 2012-13, 10-8; 2020-21, 11-7) and three fifth-place finishes (2011-12, 9-9; 2009-10, 10-8, 2019-20, 10-8).
Top-Five MVC Finishes, Last 12 Seasons
UNI - 12 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
MSU - 10 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
Drake - 9 (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
Illinois State - 7 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2020, 2021)
Bradley - 4 (2010, 2019, 2020, 2021)
Southern Illinois - 4 (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Indiana State - 3 (2013, 2014, 2018)
Loyola – 1 (2016)
Evansville - 1 (2014)
Top of the Heap
Missouri State has won the most MVC Tournament titles (11) of any Valley school, claiming the title in 2019. Drake has claimed seven tournament titles and Illinois State has four tournament championships, including the league’s first tournament in 1983.
Evansville, UNI and Southern Illinois each have two MVC Tournament titles in program history.
Bradley, Indiana State, Loyola and Valparaiso are the only four Valley schools not to have earned a tournament championship.
There’s Always a Chance
The lowest-seeded team to ever win the MVC Tournament was the No. 9 Evansville Purple Aces squad in 2009. Previously, there were a pair of No. 8 seeds – Illinois State in 2005 and Drake in 2007 – to claim MVC Tournament titles. Just one No. 7 seed (Missouri State in 2006) has ever won the MVC Tournament title.
Separation Factor
Since the start of the 1992-93 season when the Gateway Conference merged with the Missouri Valley Conference, the regular-season title has been decided by just one game on 12 occasions. In 2011, when UNI won the league with a 17-1 record, the Panthers became the first MVC team to win the regular-season title by five games, as their closest opponents (Illinois State, Missouri State and Creighton) all featured league records of 12-6.
Six times the league title has been won by a three-game margin, four times by two games (including this season), 12 times by one game and five times by identical winning records. This season, Missouri State (16-0) secured the regular-season league title by four games over second-place Drake (13-5).
Best MVC Records
Missouri State became the fifth league team to go through MVC play unscathed (Drake in 2016-17 and 2017-18 and SIU in 1986-87 and 1985-86). Four teams (Drake in 2018-19, Wichita State in 2014-15, UNI in 2010-11 and Drake in 1997-98) finished Valley play at 17-1
Record Team Year MVC Finish MVC Tourney
18-0 DU 2017-18 1st Champs
18-0 DU 2016-17 1st Champs
18-0 SIU 1986-87 1st Champs
18-0 SIU 1985-86 1st N/A
16-0 MSU 2020-21 1st ??
17-1 DU 2018-19 1st Runner-Up
DU 1997-98 1st Champs
17-1 WSU 2014-15 1st Champs
17-1 UNI 2010-11 1st Champs
MSU Wins 14th Title
Missouri State secured their second consecutive Valley regular season title and 14th MVC/Gateway championship since 1990. It marks the 12th time the Lady Bears will be the top seed in the MVC tourney.
Perfect Conference Seasons
Missouri State finished the season 16-0 in MVC play for the first time in school history. The Lady Bears join UConn, Florida Gulf Coast, UC Davis, Bucknell, SFA, South Dakota State, and Cal Baptist as the only teams perfect in regular season league play.
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 7 (NET) 5 (NET)
2019-20 8 5
2018-19 14 3
2017-18 24 2
Conference NET
The Valley ranks 7th nationally in the conference NET report. The Valley sits behind the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, Big Ten and Big East entering this week.
NET Update
The latest installment of the NCAA NET Report (Mar. 8) has five Valley teams that rank in the top-90, including seven in the Top 150. Missouri State leads the way at No. 21 with Drake (47), Illinois State (57), UNI (66), and Bradley (84), 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.
BU: Winning Ways
Last weekend’s sweep of Indiana State gave Bradley 10 or more wins in Valley play for the third consecutive year, marking the first time in program history the Braves have won 10 or more league games in three consecutive seasons. In fact, Bradley has won 39 MVC games over the last four years to give this year’s senior class the most conference wins in school history. The previous school record for league wins in a four-year stretch was Andrea Gorski’s senior class (1991-92) that went a combined 38-34 in Gateway Conference action. Overall, the Braves have won 69 games over the last four years and look to join the 2011-12 (71) and 1982-83 (72) senior classes as the only groups in Bradley history to collect 70 overall victories.
DU: OT Thriller
For the second-straight season, Drake rallied for a thrilling comeback overtime victory on its senior day. In 2019-20, Drake came back against Illinois State and this year’s rally came against Valparaiso. The Valpo win clinched the No. 2 for the Bulldogs at next week’s MVC Tournament. Drake has won the MVC regular season or finished runner-up in the final standings seven-straight seasons.
UE: Regaining Rhythm
After not recording a three pointer in the series finale at UNI on Feb. 28, Evansville seems to have rebounded and found its rhythm from beyond the arc. In the final weekend of the regular season, the Aces hit a combined 11 triples, recording the fifth-most and seventh-most three-pointers in a game this season against Missouri State.
ILS: Red Hot Redbirds
With ISU’s sweep of Loyola Chicago over the weekend, the Redbirds have secured a third-place finish in the conference standings and head to the Hoops in Heartland MVC Tournament next week on a five-game winning streak. This is the first time ISU has finished third or better in league standings since the 2012-13 season, also the last year that the Redbirds earned at least 12 wins in conference play. The Redbirds, who were selected fifth in the MVC Preseason Poll, have now finished better than their preseason prediction in all four seasons under head coach Kristen Gillespie.
INS: Moline Madness
The Sycamores are still looking for their first victory in the MVC Tournament since the tourney moved to Moline, Ill., in 2016. The past three attempts, however, have been close as the Trees fell by two to Valparaiso in 2019, two against Southern Illinois in 2018 and seven to Illinois State in 2017. ISU was slated to play Loyola Chicago in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 cancellation.
LUC: Bye, Bye, Bye
Loyola (10-12 overall) closed the 2020-21 regular season at sixth in the final Missouri Valley Conference standings, closing the year at 8-10 in league. The Ramblers, who were picked eighth in the MVC Preseason Poll, will receive their first opening-round bye in the MVC Tournament since the 2015-1t6 campaign and will battle third-seeded Illinois State in Friday’s last quarterfinal-round matchup at 8 p.m. inside TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Ill. Loyola will be in search of its first trip to the semifinals of the MVC Tournament.
MSU: MVC Tourney History
MSU is 46-21 all-time at the MVC/Gateway Tournament with a record 11 championships and 16 finals appearances to its credit. Missouri State enters the tourney with all-time records of 2-3 in the opening round, 17-8 in the quarterfinals, 16-5 in the semifinals and 11-5 in championship games. MSU has been the No. 1 seed 11 times, winning from that spot on six occasions. The Lady Bears are 7-2 in Moline with titles in 2016 and 2019.
UNI: Semi Streak
UNI reached the conference semifinals in each of the last five tournaments played for the longest active streak among any MVC basketball program (women’s/men’s). This includes three seasons in a row with championship game berths (2016-18).
SIU: Tourney Time
Southern will be the 8th seed in the upcoming MVC Tournament and will face Indiana State in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game on Thursday. It will mark the fifth time in program history, and first time since 2008-09, that Southern will be the eighth seed at the conference tournament. SIU is 0-4 all-time as the eighth seed at the conference tournament, but two of those losses came prior to the current 10-team format. The eighth-seed has twice won the MVC tournament. In 2005, Illinois State won three-straight games to punch its ticket to the big dance. Two years later, Drake won four-straight tournament games, which included a 65-64 overtime win over sixth-seeded Creighton Blue Jays in the MVC Championship game.
VALPO: Raining Threes
Valpo combined for 21 3-pointers in its two games at Drake, reaching double figures in the category in both games. The Brown and Gold have now hit 210 triples on the season, already tied for seventh-most in a single season in program history despite the shortened regular season. They are just 14 made 3-pointers away from third position as well.
Climbing the Chart
Bradley senior Gabi Haack moved up to No. 4 in MVC history with 272 career triples after adding five to her total over the weekend vs. Indiana State. Haack enters the tournament six away from moving into 2nd on the all-time list.
MVC Career Three-Pointers
1. 294 - Dayna Finch, Creighton 2001-04
2. 277 - Rishonda Napier, Southern Illinois 2014-17
3. 276 - Brittany Schoen, Indiana State 2008-12
4. 272 - Gabi Haack, Bradley 2017-present
5. 271 - Kari Koch, Missouri State 2002-06
1,000-Point Club
The Valley has eight active players in the 1,000-point club.
Current MVC Players in 1,000-Point Club
1,561 - Gabi Haack, Bradley
1,488 - Makenzie Silvey, Southern Illinois
1,367 - Karli Rucker, UNI
1,323 - Lasha Petree, Bradley
1,288 - Brice Calip, Missouri State
1,084 - Megan Maahs, UNI
1,057 - Abby Brockmeyer, Southern Illinois
1,056 - Gabby Walker, Southern Illinois
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Player and Newcomer of the Week are Drake’s Maggie Bair and Illinois State’s DeAnna Wilson.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Maggie Bair, So., F, Drake
Sophomore Maggie Bair helped Drake earn a pair of wins over Valparaiso with two great performances the final weekend of the regular season. Bair averaged a double-double with 16.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game while shooting a blistering 83.3 percent from the field making 15-of-18 field goals. Her biggest field goal was her final one that forced overtime in the second win and erased a five-point deficit with 53 seconds left against Valpo. She added 2.0 blocks and 1.5 assists per game. Bair started the weekend with her second-straight double-double with a then career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds behind 8-of-9 shooting and she added three blocks and two assists. Bair closed the weekend with another double-double with a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting and pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds and added one assist, one block and one steal.
Other Notable Performances: Lasha Petree (BRAD); Abby Feit (UE); DeAnna Wilson (ILS); Maya Chandler (LUC); Sydney Wilson (MSU); Megan Maahs (UNI); Makenzie Silvey (SIU); Shay Frederick (VU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
DeAnna Wilson, So., F, Illinois State
Illinois State’s leading scorer in both games this weekend, sophomore DeAnna Wilson averaged 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds to help the Redbirds sweep Loyola on the road and finish the regular season on a five-game winning streak. Wilson put up 14 points in ISU’s 64-61 win over the Ramblers on Friday, scoring all of her points in the second half, grabbing five boards, a steal and an assist. The sophomore followed Friday’s performance with a career-high 17 points on Saturday afternoon, going 9-of-11 (81.8%) from the charity stripe while corralling eight rebounds. The St. Louis-native has been huge for the Redbirds down the stretch, averaging 12.0 points per contest since earning a place in the starting five six games ago.
Other Notable Performances: Grace Berg (DU); Maya Chandler (LUC); Abi Jackson (MSU); Emerson Green (UNI); Adrianna Katcher (SIU)