Power Five Up Ahead
This week, the MVC schedule features eight more games against Power Five schools, including Valpo at Michigan State, Purdue at Illinois State, Missouri State at Oklahoma State, Loyola at Northwestern, Iowa State at Drake, Wisconsin at Bradley, Missouri State at USC and Drake at Iowa. The conference sits 0-2 against Power Five opponents after the first week of play. Last season, the MVC earned four wins over members of Power Five conferences during the regular season.
Quick to 50
In her third year at the helm of the Missouri State Lady Bears, head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton became just the fifth head coach in Division I history to reach 50 victories in less than 60 games to begin their careers at the Division I level. (Leon Barmore – Louisiana Tech – 53 games, Pokey Chatman – LSU – 54 games, Kurt Budke – Louisiana Tech – 55 games, Amaka Agugua-Hamilton – Missouri State – 57 games and Bart Brooks – Belmont – 59 games).
Haack’s Records Chases
Bradley fifth-year senior guard Gabi Haack is racking up career records on nearly a game-by-game basis as the 2021-22 season starts. In Monday’s 83-53 win against Upper Iowa, Haack converted two free throws in the game’s opening possession to become Bradley’s all-time leader with 349 career free throws made. She enters Friday’s game against Wisconsin in need of 18 points to become Bradley’s all-time scoring leader (currently second with 1,662 points) and six three-pointers to become The Valley’s all-time leader (currently second with 289 treys). Haack currently is second in Bradley history with 111 career games started and is expected to tie that record Friday, and she is fourth in program history with 121 career games played, four shy of the school record.
MVC Career Three-Pointers
Rank Name (Years) 3FGM
1. Dayna Finch, Creighton (2001-04) 294
2. Gabi Haack, Bradley (2017-present) 289
Pohlman Era Begins
The Allison Pohlman era has begun at Drake. The first season head coach is only the second coach in Drake women’s basketball history (seven head coaches) to win her coaching debut. Pohlman joined Carole Baumgarten whose Drake team beat Iowa, 78-65, in the first game ever played by a Drake women’s basketball team Nov. 20, 1974 in Des Moines.
Under the Hill
In Tuesday’s season-opening matchup with Detroit Mercy, the Ramblers turned in a dominant defensive showing, holding the Titans to just under 32 percent (15-for-47) from the field while also forcing 21 turnovers en route to victory. Since the start of head coach Kate Achter’s tenure in Rogers Park, the Ramblers are now an impressive 15-2 (.882) when holding an opponent under the 50-point mark.
It’s the Climb
Southern Illinois’ Makenzie Silvey moved into fourth in program history with 1,535 career points last week. She passed Char Warring during the week to move into fourth place. Silvey is four points away from passing Amy Rakers for third place in SIU history.
SIU’s All-Time Scoring List
1. Cartaesha Macklin 1,779
2. Rishonda Napier 1,728
3. Amy Rakers 1,538
4. Makenzie Silvey 1,535
Welcome Purdue
Illinois State hosts Purdue for its 2021-22 home opener on Wednesday, after beginning the season on the road with trips to Northern Illinois and St. Thomas (MN). The Boilermakers are the first of two Big Ten opponents on the Redbirds’ schedule this year, and will also be the first Power Five team to take the court at Redbird Arena since Wisconsin did during the 2016-17 season.
Folks Getting it Done
Adrian Folks paced the Sycamores over the first week of the 2021-22 season as the junior forward picked up where she left off. The Southgate, Mich. native led Indiana State’s scoring efforts in both contests against Stephens (Mo.) and Saint Louis with the latter a career effort against the Billikens. Folks posted 16 points and nine rebounds in a dominant first-half performance on the way to finishing a career-high 24 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. It marked her first 20-point game and first double-double since February 24, 2021 when she posted a 23-point, 13-rebound game against Evansville. She added new career-highs in field goals (9) and field goal attempts (22).
Hot Start
Evansville opened the 2021-22 slate with back-to-back wins, beginning with a 62-52 victory over Austin Peay and closing the weekend with a 100-59 win over Oakland City. The two-straight wins to open the campaign represent Evansville’s best start since the 2010-11 season. It marks the first time since 2000-01 that Evansville has won its first two games of the season by double-digits.
Going Deep
The Panthers had a game high for three-pointers made on Sunday vs. Iowa, with eight falling from behind the arc. Kam Finley and Maya McDermott each had multiple 3-pointers against Iowa.
Hitting the Road
Valpo’s next five games will be true road contests, starting Tuesday, Nov. 16 at Michigan State and concluding Sunday, Dec. 5 at Bowling Green. Interestingly, none of them are part of multi-game trips - they are five separate single-game trips. It is the first time Valpo will play five consecutive true road games since...the end of the regular season last year, as it closed the conference slate with one game at Loyola and two games each at Southern Illinois and at Drake. It is the first time in program history it will play five consecutive true road games in pre-conference play.
Naismith Award Watch List
Missouri State Lady Bear sixth-year senior Brice Calip was one of 50 women’s basketball players named to the 2022 Women’s Jersey Mike’s Naismith Awards Watch List. Calip is the only Missouri Valley Conference representative and was one of just 10 non-Power Five players to make the top 50 of the coveted list.
Polling
Missouri State continues to receive votes in Monday’s AP Top 25 poll after starting the season 2-0. The Lady Bears sit 29th with 14 votes this week.
MSU appeared just outside of the preseason USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll. The updated rankings will be released later Tuesday. The Lady Bears sat No. 26 with 112 points in the preseason rankings on Nov. 3.
HerHoopStats.com Stat of the Week
On November 9th against St. Louis to open the season, UNI’s Bre Gunnels had 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks (along with 10 points). Cynthia Wolf had 11 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. They are the first pair of teammates in the MVC to have 10+ rebounds, 3+ steals, and 2+ blocks in a game dating back to at least 2009-10, as far back as the HerHoopStats.com database goes. UNI won the game 63-54.
