NOTEBOOK (PDF)

At the Turn...
At the halfway point in the MVC schedule, Drake sits in first-place with a perfect 9-0 mark. Missouri State and Southern Illinois are tied for the second spot at 7-2, while UNI occupies the No. 4 spot in the standings at 6-3 in league play. Indiana State has stormed up the standings with four-straight wins and is the fifth and final team above .500 in Valley play at 5-4.

Winning at Halfway Point
Over the past 15 seasons, teams that have won or shared the regular-season championship in the MVC have reached the halfway point of the league season with at least eight wins 13 times (14 total teams). Four times – DU in 2008, CU in 2003 and MSU in 2012 and 1999 – teams have had as many as three losses and gone on to the regular-season title. 

This season, three teams reached the midpoint of Valley play with fewer than three losses, including Drake (9-0), Missouri State (7-2) and Southern Illinois (7-2).

Valley Streak Continues
Drake has the longest win streak in the MVC era for regular season MVC contests.  With the road win at Missouri State on Jan. 5, Drake set the new all-time MVC era mark at 25, surpassing the Lady Bears record of 24-straight wins set in 2000. The impressive streak started Feb. 26, 2016 with a win over Loyola.  The Bulldogs are currently six wins shy of tying SIU’s 37 game streak from 1985-1987 during the Gateway era.

Consecutive MVC/Gateway Wins
37 - Southern Illinois (Mar. 6, 1985-Dec. 30, 1987)
31 - Drake (Feb. 26, 2016-present)

Current Conference Win Streaks (NCAA)
79 - UConn (Dec. 29, 2013-present)
31 - Drake (Feb. 26, 2016-present)
29 - Belmont (Feb. 20, 2016-present)

Top Five Finishes 
UNI is the only Valley team to have finished in the top-five of the league standings for the past eight 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 once (2013-14, 13-5), had two fourth-place finishes (2014-15, 12-6; 2012-13, 10-8) and two fifth-place finishes (2011-12, 9-9; 2009-10, 10-8).

Top-Five MVC Finishes, Last Eight Seasons
UNI - 8 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Missouri State - 6 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Drake - 5 (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Illinois State - 4 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
Southern Illinois - 3 (2015, 2016, 2017)
Indiana State - 2 (2013, 2014)
Loyola – 1 (2016)
Bradley - 1 (2010)
Evansville - 1 (2014)

Weekend Lockdown
UNI finished the weekend swing against Bradley and Illinois State, allowing a combined 76 points in the two wins, which is tied for the third lowest defensive output over a weekend in league history.  UNI has the top five marks in the league’s history, all under head coach Tanya Warren. 
  
Fewest points allowed in single MVC weekend
Team    Points Allowed, Opponents, Year
1.     UNI    73 v. INS (29)/UE (44) (2015)
2.    UNI    74 at UE (41)/SIU (33) (2011)
3.    UNI    76 at BRAD (40)/ILS (36) (2018)
       UNI    76 v. UE (37)/SIU (39) (2011)
5.    UNI    77 v. INS (47)/LUC (30) (2017)

Sweep Part II
Indiana State registered its second consecutive sweep in Missouri Valley Conference play last weekend with a pair of wins at Loyola (73-65) and Valparaiso (67-54). That marks the first time since the 2013-14 season that the Sycamores have claimed consecutive weekend sweeps in MVC play.  

MVC Career Scoring Leaders
Currently, four players in the MVC have achieved at least 1,000 career points.  Missouri State’s Liza Fruendt is 12 points away from eclipsing 1,500 career points and would join Valpo’s Dani Franklin as the only two active MVC players in that club.

Rank        Player, School                                 Points
1.        Dani Franklin, Valparaiso                     1,558
2.        Liza Fruendt, Missouri State                 1,488
3.        Kylie Giebelhausen, Southern Illinois    1,165
4.        Maddy Dean, Drake                               1,033

Impactful Newcomers
The Valley has many new faces contributing to their team’s success this season.  Four of those players are currently averaging double-figures in the scoring column.  

Below is a look at the top scoring newcomers (freshman or transfer) in the MVC this season:

Top Five Newcomers                               G     Pts.    PPG
Hannah Noe, Evansville, Gr.                    18    267    14.8
Makenzie Silvey, Southern Illinois, Fr.      20    214    10.7
Abby Brockmeyer, Southern Illinois, Fr.    20    211    10.6
Abby O’Connor, Loyola, Fr.                       20    206    10.3

RPI Update
The latest installment of the NCAA RPI Report (Jan. 29) has four Valley teams that rank in the top-150, led by Drake at No. 95, Missouri State at No. 126, UNI at 136 and Southern Illinois at No. 140.

Scheduled Tough
Missouri State leads the league with a non-conference strength of schedule of 12.  Two other league schools, including Drake (No. 16) and UNI (No. 35), also have schedules that rank in the top-35.  The Valley is one of six leagues to have at least three teams appearing in the Top 35, joining the Big East, Big Ten, Pac 12, SEC and Southland.

Mid-Major Top-25 Poll
Drake appeared in the latest (Jan. 23) CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.  The Bulldogs sit 14th in the rankings after appearing at No. 17 on Jan. 16, while Missouri State is receiving votes in the poll.  Florida Gulf Coast ranks first in the poll, followed by Green Bay.