Day Two gave us the quarterfinals for the MVC Tournament. Before I get to the games, a few words about defending champs Drake University. Senior guard Katie Dinnebier received the 2024 Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year. Junior forward Anna Miller won her second consecutive MVC Defensive Player of the Year and was also chosen as the State Farm Scholar-Athlete of the Year with a 4.0 grade point average. Head coach Allison Pohlman was named the MVC Coach of the Year.
Dinnebier is also a finalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year. Pohlman has had three consecutive 20-win seasons in her first three seasons, a first in program history. Pohlman took the reins from Jennie Baranczyk, now head coach at Oklahoma, and has carried on the winning tradition that Baranczyk built.
Drake University may be a smaller school than those in the Power Five, but they are no less talented. Some of these student-athletes are worthy of a look from the WNBA, and it would be a mistake not to do so. Now the games.
Drake advances in the MVC Tournament with win over Indiana State
In the first game of the day, Drake faced off with Indiana State. Dinnebier opened the scoring with an immediate 3-point jumper, which Sycamore Chelsea Cain answered with a 3-pointer of her own. That was as close as Indiana State would get.
Drake steadily built their lead to 22-13 which was followed by an almost two-minute scoring drought until Miller hit two free throws, ending the quarter at 24-13. By the half, Drake had widened their lead to 42-26, with Indiana State not scoring for the last two and a half minutes of the quarter.
The second half saw Indiana State go through a significant drought from the opening of the third quarter to the 5:42 mark when Saige Stahl hit a pair of free throws for the Sycamores, but by the end of the quarter, Drake had opened their lead to 21 points. The fourth quarter saw yet another Sycamore slow start, not scoring until Keslyn Secrist hit a 3-pointer, taking Drake’s 30-point lead to 27. From that point, Indiana State outscored Drake 13-8, but it was too little too late, and Drake took the game 79-57.
𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐃𝐎𝐆𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍
— Drake Women's Hoops (@DrakeWBB) March 15, 2024
Berg | 18 pts, 5 reb
Miller | 15 pts, 12 reb
Dinnebier | 15 pts, 7 ast, 3 reb
McAulay | 7 pts, 4 reb, 2 stl
Iiams | 6 pts, 6 reb#BeBlue | #DSMHometownTeam pic.twitter.com/4EZuZmGy9Q
Drake shot 50.0% on 27-54 and Indiana State shot 36.1% on 22-61. Indiana State scored 12 points off of Drake’s 20 turnovers, and the Bulldogs grabbed 15 points off of the Sycamore’s 17 turnovers. Grace Berg led Drake with 18 points, Miller had 15 points and 12 boards, and Dinnebier also scored 15 points. For Indiana State, Cain scored 15, Kiley Bess scored 12, and Mya Glanton scored 10.
UNI edges out Illinois State in the quarterfinals
The second game of the day saw UNI duke it out with Illinois State, taking the first half 37-26. Illinois State responded in the second half, taking it 49-42, which wasn’t quite enough. The Redbirds scored the first bucket of the game, an Abbie Aalsma jumper, but that would be their only lead. In the third quarter, Illinois State got as close as three on an Aalsma trey, but Cailyn Morgan was fouled on a made layup and added the free throw to take the lead back to six.
In the final frame, the Redbirds kept it close. When the Panthers opened their lead to 11, Indiana State responded with a pair of free throws from DeAnna Wilson. From there to the end, the Redbirds clawed, but UNI managed to respond just enough to keep their tight lead, taking the game 79-75. Maya Wong led Illinois State with 19 points, Aaslma scored 16, and Wilson scored 12. For UNI, Maya McDermott grabbed 20 points, Kayba Laube 17, and Morgan 13.
A bit of an upset perhaps, with Illinois State having the better season record, but UNI is always tough, and not to be easily counted out.
UIC fell short against Belmont in the MVC Tournament
Belmont faced UIC in the third game, another back-and-forth close one. The Bruins shot 49.1% on 26-53 and UIC shot 51.0% on 26-51. Belmont hit 8-21 from three, while UIC hit 4-12. UIC out-rebounded Belmont 36-24 but had 19 turnovers to Belmont’s 13. Belmont jumped out to a 12-4 lead win the first, but UIC came back, holding Belmont to a 22-19 lead. The Flames and the Bruins went toe to toe in the second quarter, with Belmont edging out UIC 17-16 to go into the half with a 39-35 lead.
Belmont then outscored UIC in the third 16-10, but in the fourth, UIC closed the gap to take the lead at the 4:57 mark on a Krystyna Ellew three-pointer, making it 61-59. But then UIC went on a scoring drought, in which Belmont opened up a lead and won the game 70-65. The biggest problem for UIC was that their starters scored 19 points. The bench kept it close, so going back to the drawing board for next season should be a priority for UIC.
The reverse was true for Belmont, who only got 9 points off the bench. Fortunately, the starters did their job, but they obviously need a lot more from the bench.
Missouri State and Murray State came down to the wire
The final game of the day pitted Missouri State against Murray State. This was a genuine back-and-forth game, with Missouri State taking the first and third quarters and Murray State the second and fourth. Murray State had a 33-29 lead at the half. In the third, Missouri State took a one-point lead at the 5:10 mark on a Kennedy Taylor jumper, making it 39-38. From there, Missouri State held the Racers to only five more points and ended the third quarter leading 50-43.
In the fourth, the Lady Bears held a slim lead until Trinity White‘s three-pointer for Murray State tied the game at 57 all. From there, it went back and forth until the 0:01 mark, when Lacy Stokes hit two free throws, putting Missouri State up 71-70. Murray State time out, then Murray State turnover, and that was the game. Looking at the box score, everyone did their job on both sides.
𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 😤#MSULadyBears pic.twitter.com/ZHXMLdb2Di
— Missouri State Lady Bears (@MSULadyBears) March 16, 2024
Maybe a few too many fouls for Murray State and some costly turnovers, maybe a few more 3s for Missouri State would have helped, but what probably hurt the momentum for Murray State were the two 10-point quarters, which gave them a little higher mountain to climb. Try as they did in the fourth, they just fell one step short.
Drake faces Northern Iowa and Belmont faces Missouri in today’s semifinals. I’m giving an edge to Drake in the first game and to Belmont in the second. Drake and Belmont finished one and two in the conference, so a matchup between them would be and should be a damn good game.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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