NOTEBOOK (PDF)
B1G Upcoming Matchups
The Missouri Valley Conference has two wins over Power Five opponents this season. UNI took down Iowa State, 57-53, in Cedar Falls and Drake claimed an 83-80 win at home over the Cyclones as well.
This week, the MVC schedule features two games hosting programs from the Big Ten. Missouri State will welcome Northwestern on Saturday, while UNI will host #25 Iowa on Sunday.
The Lady Bears will host a Big Ten school for the first time since a third-round WNIT loss to Illinois in 2010. The Lady Bears are 6-2 all-time at home against the Big Ten, including a victory against Northwestern in 1997.
UNI and Iowa have met 22 times on the hardwood, with the Hawkeyes holding a 20-2 mark in the series.The last UNI win over Iowa came on Dec. 19, 2006, as the Panthers earned an 83-62 win in Iowa City.
Franklin In Elite Company
Valpo’s Dani Franklin has now reached the following milestones – 1,000 career points, 500 career rebounds and 500 career made field goals. She’s joined in that elite group by Debbie Bolen, Jeanette Gray and Sarrah Stricklett as the only players in Valpo history to achieve all three of those feats.
Elite Defense
Illinois State is ranked 14th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 53.8 points per game, and sits seventh nationally in field-goal percentage defense (32.5%). The Redbirds join six other teams that appear in the Top 15 nationally in both categories (Green Bay, Clemson, Gardner-Webb, Villanova, West Virginia and North Texas).
Home Sweet Home
Currently two MVC teams remain perfect at home: Bradley (3-0) and Valparaiso (3-0) have unblemished records on their home courts this season. Valparaiso will look to improve to 4-0 at home on Friday against IU-Northwest. A win would give the Crusaders a 4-0 start at home for the first time since 2007-08 (started 5-0 that season).
Dialing From Distance
Evansville’s Hannah Noe not only leads the MVC in scoring this season, she also ranks seventh nationally in three-point field goals per game. The graduate transfer from SEMO already has 30 three point field goals this season, averaging 3.75 makes per game.
Valpo sophomore guard Grace Hales currently ranks second nationally in three-point field-goal percentage (58.6%), connecting on 17 of her 29 attempts. Hales trails Oregon State freshman guard Aleah Goodman (68.2%; 15-of-22).
Team Long Range Success
Valpo has shot above 30 percent from 3-point range in all eight games this season and above 35 percent in seven straight. This is the first time Valpo has shot better than 30 percent from three in each of its first eight games since the turn of the century. In addition, the Crusaders are the only team in The Valley that has shot better than 30 percent from three every game this season.
The RPI Ratings Game
The latest installment of the NCAA RPI Report (Dec. 11) has three Valley teams that rank in the top-200, led by Bradley at No. 150, Drake at No. 166 and UNI at No. 174.
Against the Field
The MVC holds a winning record against four leagues in non-conference play, including the Big 12 (2-1) , Big South (2-1), Southland (1-0) and WAC (4-0). The MVC holds at least a .500 mark against four other conferences: American (2-2), Big Sky (1-1), Mountain West (1-1) and SWAC (1-1).
Warren Climbing Charts
UNI’s Tanya Warren is the longest tenured coach in the MVC and is climbing the career wins chart for both MVC-only wins and all-game victories. Warren is one win shy of tying Creighton’s Jim Flanery for fifth in MVC history.
MVC Coaching Leaders, All-Game Wins
1. Cindy Scott, Southern Illinois (1983-98) 353
2. Cheryl Burnett, Missouri State (1988-02) 319
3. Jill Hutchison, Illinois State (1983-99) 277
4. Barbara Hilke, Eastern Illinois (1983-92) 231
5. Jim Flanery, Creighton (2003-13) 190
6. Tanya Warren, UNI (2008-present) 189