The Missouri Valley Conference has announced a change in Saturday's (March 13) schedule of the 2021 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament as well as a start time change for Sunday's (March 14) final.
Each MVC program is required to undergo daily COVID-19 testing for the week preceding and throughout the 2021 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament. Beginning Wednesday (March 10), Genesis Health Systems has partnered with the Conference to provide on-site antigen testing and confirmatory PCR tests of each team's Tier 1 personnel throughout Hoops in the Heartland. A single positive result was discovered in both Bradley's and Drake's Tier 1 personnel as part of Friday evening’s testing, and subsequent contact tracing revealed that both institutions have enough available and non-impacted players and bench personnel to safely compete. Continuing use of the Conference’s COVID-19 contact tracing guidelines and protocols during the tournament was endorsed by the Rock Island County Health Department prior to the start of the tournament. Neither Loyola nor Missouri State had a positive test following Friday’s testing.
With the program’s participation in the NCAA Tournament at the forefront of the university’s decision, Missouri State, which was scheduled to play Bradley at 1 p.m. CT, has withdrawn from the remainder of the tournament. The 17th-ranked Lady Bears (21-2) were the top seed in this year’s MVC Tournament and earned an opening-round victory over No. 8 seed Southern Illinois on Friday. The Bradley-Missouri State will be deemed as a "no contest." MSU Director of Athletics Kyle Moats noted the team will return to Springfield today and prepare for Monday’s NCAA Tournament field announcement. No. 5 Seed Bradley will play No. 6 Seed Loyola at 6 p.m. CT today. No. 2 Seed Drake, as the highest remaining seed, will advance to Sunday's final, which has been moved to 4 p.m. CT. Each game can be viewed on ESPN+.
SATURDAY, MARCH 13
6:02 pm -- Bradley/Loyola (ESPN+)
SUNDAY, MARCH 14
4:02 pm -- Bradley/Loyola winner vs. Drake (ESPN+)
The re-seeding policies above were approved in advance of the tournament by the league's athletics directors. Protecting higher (better) seeds and protecting the sanctity of the bracket were identified as the top priorities in the reseeding process. MVC athletically related activities will take place only to the extent permitted by local environments and applicable national, state, local and institutional guidelines in order to safeguard the health and safety of participants, staff and fans.