The word great, like so many other superlatives, is overused to the point of meaninglessness. I do my best not to use it, but regarding the MVC Tournament championship game between Drake University and Missouri State University, I’m going to make an exception. This was a great game. It was one of the hardest-fought, most intense, and dedicated games of basketball I’ve seen in a while.
Missouri Valley and Drake in the MVC Tournament Final
The Lady Bears got off to a sluggish start, and Drake was able to build a 10-point lead on an Anna Miller layup. Missouri State responded with a layup by Kennedy Taylor. Grace Berg immediately put in a layup for Drake, and then Taylor hit a jumper. 20-12 Drake. Courtney Becker and Shannon Fornshell added a pair of layups, and Kyrah Daniels added a trey, and the quarter ended 24-14 Drake. The second quarter started slowly, trading a few buckets until Indya Green hit a three to bring it to 26-24 Drake.
Then, Miller hit a jumper, followed by a jumper from Daniels. 28-26 Drake. Berg made a layup, then a pair of free throws. 32-26 Drake. Taylor followed with a pair of layups and a free throw. 32-31 Drake. Taylor McAulay hit two free throws, then Jade Masogayo hit a jumper. 34-33 Drake. The rest of the scoring for the quarter consisted of four free throws for Drake and two for Missouri State, ending the half at 38-35 Drake.
Miller then scored the opening nine points of the third quarter, and with a Katie Dinnebier layup, pushed the Drake lead to 49-35. Drake then moved out to a 55-41 lead when a free throw from Kennedy Taylor started a seven-point run for the Lady Bears. Berg’s pair of free throws, Taylor’s layup, and Becker’s layup ended the quarter with Drake up 59-50. The fourth quarter saw Drake open it to a 14-point lead by the 7:42 mark. Lacy Stokes scored a jumper, followed by a Miller layup. Drake up 60-56.
The MVC Tournament Final came down to the wire
Then Drake went ice cold and did not score again until the 2:29 mark after a Stokes free throw had tied the game at 70 all. Anna Miller hit two consecutive layups, and then Paige Rocca hit a trey at 0:37. 74-73 Drake. Drake then turned the ball over with 12 seconds left. Time out Missouri State. With two seconds left, Stokes nails a jumper. 75-74 Missouri State, their first lead of the game. Time out Drake, moving the ball. Miller grabs the inbound, and with one second left, hits the layup, and Drake wins 76-75.
𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐃𝐎𝐆𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍
— Drake Women's Hoops (@DrakeWBB) March 17, 2024
Miller | 25 pts, 7 reb
Dinnebier | 17 pts, 3 ast
Berg | 16 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast
Becker | 8 pts, 4 reb
McAulay | 6 pts, 5 ast#BeBlue | #DSMHometownTeam pic.twitter.com/jaR3fJxCMq
Drake, normally a high-scoring three-point shooting team, was held to 3-17. Green was deadly under the basket for Missouri State and contributed 17 points. Taylor led the Lady Bears with a double-double of 22 points and 11 boards, Stokes added 18 points, 7 assists, and 6 steals, and Masogayo added 10 points. Miller led Drake with 25 points, Dinnebier added 17, and Berg 16.
Drake’s biggest weakness was the bench, with only Fornshell scoring four points for a bench comprised of six players.
Thoughts on the game
The biggest takeaway from this game was the display of the strength and talent that the conference has to offer. Both of these storied programs of the MVC have amassed excellent records over the years. Do they belong in other conferences? One could argue that their collective talent is worthy of it.
However, what they also do, and perhaps more importantly, is give a greater value to the conference, which, as I have said before, deserves much more recognition than it receives, particularly on a national level. These are not mid-major programs; they are simply damn good basketball teams.
𝙒𝙀’𝙍𝙀 𝘿𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙄𝙉’#BeBlue | #DSMHometownTeam pic.twitter.com/0eGQwYebHD
— Drake Women's Hoops (@DrakeWBB) March 18, 2024
So Drake has punched its ticket to the Big Dance. When you read this, you’ll know where they will land. Regardless, no one should take the Drake Bulldogs lightly. Between now and tournament time, Coach Pohlman will help to iron out the kinks and make them an even more formidable opponent. I for one am eager to watch them play. You should be as well.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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