MOLINE, Ill. – Just when it seemed another title was slipping away, Anna Miller saved it for Drake.

   Miller dropped in a layup at the buzzer to lift Drake past Missouri State 76-75 on Sunday, giving the Bulldogs their second straight Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship.

   The winning shot came after Lacy Stokes hit runner in the lane with 2.6 seconds left to give the Lady Bears a 75-74 lead. A timeout allowed Drake to advance the ball and coach Alison Pohlman drew up the final play.

   Taylor McAuly inbounded the ball to Courtney Becker in the right corner and Becker fired the ball to Miller on the low block. The 6-foot-3 junior caught, spun to her left and hit a soft left-handed shot as the buzzer sounded. Miller fell backward holding her head with both hands and was immediately swarmed by her teammates.

   It’s the ninth tournament championship in 17 appearances in the finals for the Bulldogs (29-5), who will take a 14-game winning streak and a school-record victory total into their 15^th NCAA tournament trip.

   Missouri State (23-9) finished as the runner-up for the sixth time to go with its conference-best 11 championships and will await its postseason fate.

   Miller made 11-of-12 shots, including a 3-pointer, and finished with 25 points to match her career high. She also grabbed seven rebounds, made two steals and handed out an assist.

  Katie Dinnebier added 17 points, three assists and two steals for the Bulldogs and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player, this after being named the league’s Player of the Year. Becker contributed eight points, four rebounds and two steals to Drake’s effort and McAulay scored six to go with five assists, that last one the most important of all.

   Drake shot 53.8 percent and set a tournament record by making all 17 of its free throws.

   Missouri State got outstanding play from its inside trio of Kennedy Taylor, Indya Green and Jade Masogayo, who combined for 49 points and 23 rebounds. Kennedy had 22 points and 11 boards, Green 17 and nine and Masogayo 10 and three.

   Stokes, the league’s Newcomer of the Year, proved her mettle by playing all 40 minutes and finishing with 16 points, seven assists and six steals. She had 14 steals in her three tournament games, the second most in MVC tourney history, and her final basket looked like a game winner until Miller came along.

   The game was worthy of the two most successful  programs in Valley tournament play. Drake now has 53 tourney wins and Missouri State 51. They have combined for 20 championships in the 38 MVC tournaments.

    Drake more than once appeared to be on the verge of breaking the game open.

   Dinnebier scored eight points and assisted on the three other baskets in a 14-4 run that sent Drake into an 18-8 lead. The Bulldogs maintained a seven- to nine-point margin until Green scored inside, hit a mid-range jump shot and knocked down a 3-pointer to draw the Lady Bears to 28-24.

   Taylor’s three-point play cut the lead to 32-31, but Drake stayed in front and led 38-35 at halftime.

   Miller started the second half with nine straight points and Dinneiber followed with a driving layup to increase the lead to 49-35. Back came Missouri State again, drawing to 55-48 with a 7-0 run that Taylor finished with five straight points after Miller went to the bench with her third foul. Another Taylor bucket made it 57-50 before Becker got loose for a layup to put Drake up 59-50 heading into the fourth quarter.

   A 7-0 burst increased Drake’s lead to 68-54, but the Lady Bears rallied again as Drake stumbled through a stretch of four turnovers and three missed shots. When Stokes sank two free throws, it was tied at 70.

   Miller, now with four fouls, slowed the Lady Bears’ momentum with two straight baskets, putting Drake up 74-70 with 1:45 left. The Bulldogs still weren’t safe.

   Stokes fed Paige Rocca for a 3 from the left corner with 47.2 seconds left and the Lady Bears got the ball back when Berg’s layup was ruled to have left her hand after the shot clock expired. That’s when Stokes took the ball to the hoop to give Missouri State its only lead of the game.

  Because of Miller, it didn’t even last 3 seconds.

  This is the seventh time a school has repeated its tournament championship. Drake also won the men’s tournament title for the second year in a row, making this the eighth time a school has won both. Drake is the only school to achieve that combination two years in a row.
 
 
2024 MVC Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team
Katie Dinnebier, Drake (Patty Viverito Award - Most Outstanding Player)
Anna Miller, Drake
Indya Green, Missouri State
Lacy Stokes, Missouri State 
Maya McDermott, UNI

Elite 17 Award:  Anna Miller, Drake