Just seven non-conference games remain before the start of the league schedule on December 30. All seven of those games will take place over the next seven days.
The Valley enters that final stretch 53-47 (.530) in non-conference action this season.
Missouri State is one of nine teams nationally to have a non-conference victory against three different Power Five leagues this season. Only two teams – Missouri State and UConn – have a victory over schools from the ACC (Virginia Tech), Pac-12 (USC) and SEC (Missouri).
NET Update
The NCAA NET Report (Dec. 21) has four Valley teams that rank in the top-100, including six of the 10 sitting in the top 200. Missouri State leads the way at No. 19 with UNI (44), Drake (63) and Southern Illinois (97), rounding out the schools in the Top 100. The Valley sits 10th as a league.
Team NET
Missouri State 19
UNI 44
Drake 63
Southern Illinois 97
Loyola 118
Evansville 185
Indiana State 223
Illinois State 229
Bradley 238
Valparaiso 301
MVC 10
HerHoopStats Stat of the Week
Indiana State’s Del’Janae Williams is one of just four players in NCAA Division I to have multiple games with at least seven steals this season. Niagara’s Angel Parker has three games with 7+ steals, while Williams has two along with Chicago State’s Aaliyah Collins and La Salle’s Molly Masciantonio.
BU: Approaching 1,800
Bradley fifth-year senior guard Gabi Haack enters the Dec. 28 non-conference finale versus Saint Louis with 1,795 career points … The all-time leading scorer in Bradley Women’s Basketball history needs five more points to become the 20th student-athlete in Valley Women’s Basketball history to eclipse 1,800 career points … Haack will become just the second MVC student-athlete from the league’s four Illinois schools to reach 1,800 points, trailing only Illinois State’s Kristi Cirone (2,139 points from 2005-09).
DU: Tough Loss
Drake fell to Nebraska by 21 on Sunday Dec. 19. The Bulldogs held a steady lead in the first quarter, but were unable to get past a scrappy Husker defense. The Bulldogs were called for nine fouls in the fourth quarter, compared to Nebraska’s four.
UE: Fast Start
As Evansville closes-out the non-conference slate, the Aces have put up some impressive numbers offensively. Promised by head coach Robyn Scherr-Wells throughout the preseason, the Aces have played at a fast pace, ranking in the top 40 in both points per game (78.3) and possessions per 40 minutes (76.2).
The Aces are in the midst of their best start since the 2008-09 season, the last time Evansville won six non-conference contests. The 2008-09 Aces would go on to win the MVC Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
ILS: Double-Double DeAnna
With her performance in Dec. 20’s win over Saint Louis, junior DeAnna Wilson became the first Redbird to score 23+ points with 13+ rebounds since December 4, 2010 when Emily Hanley had 24 points and 13 rebounds in a 94-86 win over UIC.
INS: Paint Presence
Indiana State made its presence felt down low in a 76-50 win over UIC. The Sycamores scored 50 points in the paint against the Flames, marking the second time this season that Indiana State has scored 50 or more points in the paint. Indiana State won both games where it scored 50 or more in the paint, winning those games by an average of 40.5 points.
The Sycamores also won a second-straight game with a win over Purdue Fort Wayne Monday. Indiana State has already equalled the 2020-21 season with five wins this season.
LUC: Something’s Gotta Give
Loyola closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule on Tuesday when it battles Cleveland State. The matchup of former Horizon League foes will feature a matchup of one of the nation’s top scorers in the Vikings’ Destiny Leo against a stout Rambler defense. Leo enters the week ranked second nationally in scoring (24.2 ppg), while Loyola, which sits second in The Valley in scoring defense (56.7 ppg), has held four opponents under the 50-point mark this season. Loyola is already assured of finishing non-conference play with a winning record for the third time in the last four seasons.
MSU: Calip Sets Wins Record
Missouri State’s Brice Calip participated in her 105th career victory Saturday when the Lady Bears topped Southern at JQH Arena. In her 140th career game, Calip had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists on the way to breaking a tie with Melody Howard for the most wins in Lady Bear history.
UNI: Splitsville
The Panthers split their games in the Maui Jim Maui Classic over the weekend in their first appearance in the tournament. UNI won their first game in the tournament against Idaho 75-64 on Saturday. But the Panthers would drop the final championship game of the tournament to Oregon State 59-70.
SIU: B1G Win
Southern Illinois ran away from in-state rival Illinois, 66-51, on Sunday. The Salukis were locked in both offensively and defensively from the jump, as they scored 16-straight points in the first quarter to race out to a 16-4 lead. After that, Southern’s lead was never less than eight and grew to as many as 21. The convincing win was SIU’s first over Illinois since 1993. The Salukis won’t have long to celebrate their first win over a Big Ten program since 2016. The No. 8-ranked Indiana Hoosiers, who are currently second in the Big Ten, await the Salukis on Thursday.
VU: Strong Start to Finish
The Beacons bookended Sunday’s win at Morehead State with strong opening and closing quarters, shooting 7-of-10 (70%) from the floor in the first quarter and 8-of-11 (72.7%) in the fourth quarter. Coming into the game, Valpo had not cracked the 70% mark for a quarter yet this season and did so just once all of last season (vs. Drake, Hoops in the Heartland quarterfinal). The last time before Sunday Valpo hit the 70% mark in two out of four quarters of the same game came on Dec. 28, 2019, when it did so in the first and fourth quarters in a win over Chicago State.