Sunday Final:
It took overtime, but for the second-straight year in the conference tournament, the champions won four games in four days en route to the title. This year, the eighth-seeded Drake Bulldogs upset six-seed Creighton, 65-64 in overtime for the title on Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa. It was just the third overtime game in the conference tournament final.
The Bulldogs downed the Wichita State Shockers Thursday night, top-seeded Southern Illinois Friday and finally No. 4 Evansville to advance to the championship on Sunday. The Bluejays downed Indiana State and Illinois State to reach Sunday's final. The final, played at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, boasted 3,127 fans.
Drake will learn its fate in the NCAA Tournament bracket announcement, Selection Monday, live on ESPN.
Saturday Semifinals:
For the first time in conference tournament history, the #6 seed with play the #8 seed in the final as the #6 Bluejays of Creighton and host, #8 Drake, will play in the 2007 State Farm MVC Women's Basketball Championship on Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa. DU upset fourth-seeded Evansville while the Creighton Bluejays downed second-seeded Illinois State 59-56 to advance to Sunday's final.
The eighth-seeded Drake Bulldogs, with an 18-point effort from Lindsay Whorton, started out on a 14-0 run against the #4 Aces and didn't look back as DU was a 61-58 winner over UE to advance to the championship of the 2007 State Farm MVC Women's Basketball Championship. The 3:35 p.m. contest pits #2 Illinois State against #6 Creighton and is currently underway at the Knapp Center.
Semifinal matchups are set, with #8 Drake and #4 Evansville in the 1 p.m. contest on Saturday at the Knapp Center in Des Moines. The 3:35 p.m. contest pits #2 Illinois State against #6 Creighton. Both contests will air live on FSN Midwest.
Illinois State, the No. 2 seed in the 2007 State Farm MVC Women’s Basketball Championship, downed No. 7 Bradley, 75-60, to advance to the semifinals. The Redbirds will play the winner of the No. 3 Indiana State/No. 6 Creighton currently underway at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa. No. 8 Drake and No. 4 Evansville advanced also advanced to the semifinals at DU upset No. 1 Southern Illinois and UE was a one-point winner over No. 5 UNI.
2007 State Farm MVC Tournament
Thursday, March 8 -- Session I
Game 1 -- #8 Drake def. #9 Wichita State, 78-63
Post Game Quotes |
Game Notes
Game 2 -- #7 Bradley def. #10 Missouri State, 65-56
Post Game Quotes | Game Notes
Friday, March 9 -- Session II
Game 3 -- #8 Drake def. #1 Southern Illinois, 59-47
Post Game Quotes |
Game Notes
Game 4 -- #4 Evansville def. #5 UNI, 58-57
Post Game Quotes | Game Notes
Friday, March 9 -- Session III
Game 5 -- #2 Illinois State def. #7 Bradley, 75-60
Post Game Quotes |
Game Notes
Game 6 -- #6 Creighton def. #3 Indiana State, 69-65
Post Game Quotes | Game Notes
Saturday, March 10 -- Session IV
Game 7 -- #8 Drake def. #4 Evansville, 61-58
Post Game Quotes |
Game Notes
Game 8 -- #6 Creighton def. #2 Illinois State, 59-56
Post Game Quotes | Game Notes
Sunday, March 4 -- Session V
Game 9 -- No. 8 Drake def. No. 6 Creighton, 65-64 OT
Post Game Quotes |
Game Notes
2007 All-Tournament Team
Rebekah Parker, Evansville
Lauren Dybing, Drake
Ally Thrall, Creighton
Sara Cain, Creighton
Lindsay Whorton, Drake - MVP
Southern Illinois Clinches No. 1 Seed...Illinois State No. 2
Southern Illinois, picked to finish seventh in the league in the conference pre-season poll released in October, exceeded expectations in 2006-07, as the Salukis won the outright Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title. It is the first title for SIU since the Missouri Valley Conference merged with the Gateway Conference in 1992-93 and the Salukis earn the No. 1 seed at next week’s State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa. SIU heads into the tournament with a 20-9 mark and finished the regular-season race with a 16-2 record.
Illinois State earned the No. 2 seed and also wrapped up its first 20-win season (20-9) since the 1989-90 campaign, and swept the Drake-Creighton road swing for the first time in program history. Both the Salukis and Redbirds earned a bye in the tournament and will play the winners from the opening-round games.
Drake will host this year's tournament and opens play on Thursday, March 8, in game one as the No. 8 seed, facing No. 9 Wichita State. Tip-off is slated for 6:05 p.m. The nightcap on Thursday pits No. 7 Bradley vs. No. 10 Missouri State at 8:35 p.m. For the second-straight season, the tourney features all 10 MVC teams while the semifinals and final will air live on FSN Midwest, Comcast SportsNet, Metro Sports and Fox College Sports.
The Salukis, under the direction of Dana Eikenberg, will begin tournament action on Friday, March 9, when they play the winner of the first-round matchup between Drake and Wichita State followed by No. 4 Evansville vs. No. 5 Northern Iowa. The night session will feature the No. 2 Illinois State vs. winner game 2 at 6:05 p.m. followed by game six of the tournament with No. 3 Indiana State facing off against No. 6 Creighton at 8:35 p.m.