Away We Go!
Missouri Valley Conference teams have combined for a 4-7 non-conference record (through games of Monday, Nov. 13). Last year, the league had a 5-7 start through the first weekend of the campaign.
NOTEBOOK (PDF)
Power Five Up Ahead
This week, the MVC schedule features three games against Power Five schools, including Iowa State at UNI, Bradley at Illinois and #23 Missouri at Missouri State. Last season, the MVC earned six wins over members of Power Five conferences.
Back on Campus
In its first game on campus since 2000, Evansville posted an 89-81 season-opening victory over Murray State on Sunday in Meeks Family Fieldhouse. The win is the Aces seventh season-opening win in the past 11 years.
Noes How to Score
In her first game for the Purple Aces, Hannah Noe put together one of the better offensive performances in Evansville history. The SEMO graduate transfer scored 33 points, four shy of the program single-game record, knocking-down six threes and going nine-of-nine from the charity stripe. The 33 points is a career-best for Noe, whose previous career high was 29 points. Noe’s 33 points are the most by a Purple Ace since Sara Dickey set the program record with 37 points at Murray State on Dec. 3, 2014.
The New Girls Can Play
Evansville’s Hannah Noe and Loyola’s Kailyn Strawbridge each scored over 30 points in their respective season openers. MVC players topped 30 points on only seven occasions last season with four of those belonging to Jackie Stiles Player of the Year Lizzy Wendell. Strawbridge’s 32 points against Fort Wayne is the top mark by a freshman nationally this season.
Double-Doubles
During opening weekend, the MVC had four players notch double-doubles their first time out on the court this season: Evansville’s Kelsi Scott, Illinois State’s Simone Goods, UNI’s Megan Maahs and Southern Illinois’ Abby Brockmeyer.
Player, School Stats Opponent
Simone Goods, ILS 22 pts, 11 rbs at Oakland
Abby Brockmeyer, SIU 17 pts, 10 rbs at UAB
Kelsi Scott, UE 12 pts, 10 rbs Murray St.
Megan Maahs, UNI 10 pts, 16 rbs IUPUI
Looking for 2-0 Start
Bradley heads into Wednesday’s matchup with Lincoln University with a 1-0 record after posting a 69-56 victory over Omaha to open the season. The Braves have not opened a season with back-to-back wins since 2013-14 and the last time Bradley started a season with consecutive home victories was 2008-09 (21-10 overall).
20+ Assists in Opener
Southern Illinois dished out 20 assists in an 84-72 season opening win over UT-Martin, which marked the first time since the 1996-97 season that SIU has opened a season with that many assists. The Salukis notched 29 assists in a 95-63 win over Murray State on Nov. 23, 1996.
Mid-Major Top-25 Poll
Drake and UNI appeared in the preseason (Oct. 31) CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 earlier this fall. The Bulldogs sit third in the poll, while the Panthers are slotted 23rd. Drake and UNI are joined by Missouri State (77), which is receiving votes in the poll.
Home Court Streaks
Drake currently holds the longest active home winning streak in the Valley at 19, following a 77-73 win over Milwaukee Friday. The streak currently ranks fifth nationally.
Below is a look at the top three home winning streaks all-time in The Valley:
Longest Home MVC Winning Streaks
31 – Missouri State (Dec. 18, 1990 – Dec. 11, 1992)
30 – Missouri State (Jan. 8, 1993 – Nov. 20, 1994)
23 – Creighton (Dec. 22, 2001 – Mar. 1, 2003)
Current:
19 – Drake (Feb. 5, 2016 – present)
Longest Active Home Winning Streaks NCAA
66 – UCONN
31 – UCLA
29 – Bucknell
25 – Montana State
19 – Drake
Fruendt on Miller Watch List
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the WBCA announced that Missouri State senior Liza Fruendt is one of 20 watch list candidates for the 2018 Cheryl Miller Award. Named after the three-time Naismith Player of the Year, the annual award in its inaugural year recognizes the top small forwards in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2018 Cheryl Miller Award will be narrowed to just 10.