MVC Women's Basketball WEEKLY NOTEBOOK - JAN. 30, 2024

Belmont Bruins

• The Bruins improved to a combined 8-0 all-time versus Missouri State and Southern Illinois over the weekend.
• Belmont has won seven straight at home and is 9-1 at the Curb Event Center this season.
• The Bruins are 98-13 (.883) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season. Belmont has a home winning percentage of .748 (196-66) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• The Bruins have held 13 of their 20 opponents this season under 65 points. Belmont has also kept nine teams under 60 points.
• In their nine MVC games, the Bruins have allowed more than 60 points just four times. Belmont is limiting opponents to 56.8 points per game in Valley play.
• Junior forward Kendal Cheesman recorded her second consecutive career double-double Friday evening in the win over Missouri State, tallying a game-best 18 points and 12 rebounds.
• Miller has reached double figures in 15 of 20 games this season. Banks has scored in double figures in 14 of her first 20 collegiate games.

RESCHEDULE UPDATE

The Conference has also announced the Murray State-Belmont women's basketball contest from Nashville, Tenn., has been selected as a featured MVC Game of the Week and will air on the MVC TV Network [ESPN+, Bally Sports Midwest; Bally Sports Indiana Extra; Bally Sports Kansas City; Bally Sports South (GA / NC / SC / TN / Huntsville main channel - no KY main or plus clearance due to professional content) & NBC Sports Chicago]. The game moves from Saturday, Feb. 3, to Friday, Feb. 2, and air time is at 6 p.m. CT. Additionally, the Drake-UNI women's basketball contest scheduled for Friday, Feb. 2, has been moved to Saturday, Feb. 3. The contest, played in Cedar Falls, Iowa, will air on ESPN+ and tip time will be announced at a later time.

BRADLEY Braves

• The Braves saw two Valley losses against UNI (105-59) and Drake (77-65)
• Freshman Halli Poock had a great first half. She went 4-5 from the field, scoring nine of Bradley's 30 points. Not only did Poock lead the team in points, but she also led in rebounds, grabbing four boards, as well as leading the Braves in assists, dishing out three. She spent the most time on the floor with 17 minutes. 40% of the Braves's first-half points came from the bench, with 46.67% of the points scored in the first half having been scored in the paint. Poock continued to shine in the second half, scoring 19 points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out four assists. She led the Braves in points and assists. The Braves had a strong night on the free throw line, making 81.3% of their shots.
• The Brave's defense came out with a strong start, forcing the Bulldogs to take a shot-clock violation on their first possession. Bradley utilized quick shifts in the first half, resulting in 19 of the 31 points to come from the bench. 61.3% of points scored in the first half came off the bench, whereas only three of Drake's 45 points came from their bench. Bradley came out of halftime and applied pressure, going on a 6-0 run, making 3-3 shots. Bradley had a strong surge in the first half of the fourth quarter, with an 8-0 run in 1:28 minutes. Six of the points came from three-pointers from Freshman Halli Poock. Bradley kept their foot on the gas, but it wasn't enough. The bench continued to shine, scoring 27 on the night. Freshman Claire McDougall tied her career-high with three steals. McDougall contributed more to the defense tonight by leading the team in rebounds with eight and tied for the most blocks with two. Poock tied her career high in assists with eight.

DRAKE Bulldogs

• The Bulldogs experienced a first over the weekend as they dropped a competitive tilt at Illinois State (1/27) for their first league loss of the year and saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end. Drake’s winning streak was the longest of the Allison Pohlman era. The Bulldogs also took down Bradley on the road (1/25) behind junior Katie Dinnebier’s near-career-high 29 points. Dinnebier’s performance came in the record-setting variety as she became the 36th player in program history to score 1,000 points in a career. Drake will conclude their three-game road swing with another rivalry game at UNI on Saturday, Feb. 3.

RESCHEDULE UPDATE

The Drake-UNI women's basketball contest scheduled for Friday, Feb. 2, has been moved to Saturday, Feb. 3. The contest, played in Cedar Falls, Iowa, will air on ESPN+ and tip time will be announced at a later time.

ILLINOIS STATE Redbirds

• The Redbirds saw two home win Drake (79-70) and UNI (88-77).
• It was Wilson's fifth 20-plus point game of the season. She is averaging 17.4 points (5th in MVC) and 7.5 rebounds per game (8th in MVC) since the start of MVC play.
• Illinois State improved to 48-41 overall and 27-16 at home in the all-time series with the Panthers. The Redbirds have won three of the last four meetings, which includes a 2022 bout in the MVC Tournament championship game.
• Illinois State shot season-best marks from the field and free throw line in the win. The Redbirds went 19-21 from the free throw line for a season-high 90.5 percent. It is the first time this season Illinois State has shot north of 90 percent from the free throw line in a single game. Illinois State shot 57.7 percent from the field, which ties their season best set in the opener at Omaha Nov. 6. The Redbirds shot 9-for-19 from behind the arc for 47.4 percent, which is second this season behind a 12-for-22 (54.5%) effort Nov. 19 vs Saint Francis.
• Illinois State moved to 8-1 on the year at CEFCU Arena. Aalsma has reached double-figure scoring in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. After 12 points in the fourth quarter on Thursday against UNI, Bullman is averaging 10.5 points in the fourth quarter alone over the last two games. The Redbirds shot 10-for-20 from behind the arc, just the second time this season Illinois State has shot north of 50 percent in a single game. (54.5 percent Nov. 19 vs Saint Francis.)
• Every Redbird who checked into the game scored on Saturday. The Redbirds had 20 points off the bench, led by Caroline Waite's 8 points. Illinois State improved to 9-1 on its home floor.

INDIANA STATE Sycamores

• Second Half Surge
• Indiana State’s second half against Valparaiso was one of its best this season, as the Sycamores outscored the Beacons 42-17 over the final 20 minutes of play. The Sycamores shot better than 60 percent from the field across the third and fourth quarters, while limiting Valpo to a 4-for-20 clip from the field in the second half.
• The second-half outburst from the Blue and White came courtesy of a balanced effort. Eight different players scored for the Sycamores over the final 20 minutes of play, with four of those players tallying six or more points across the third and fourth quarters.
• Finnegan Finding Her Stroke
• Indiana State guard Bella Finnegan has found her stroke from behind the arc since the calendar flipped to conference play. Finnegan is connecting on 44.2 percent of her 3-point attempts against MVC foes this season, going 19-for-43 from behind the arc.
• Finnegan has knocked down multiple 3-pointers in seven of Indiana State’s first nine conference games, including five games with three 3-pointers.

MISSOURI STATE Bears

• The Lady Bears went 1-1 on the road, with a loss against Belmont on Friday (55-66) and a win over Murray State on Sunday (84-74).
• After trailing by 13 points at the half, 45-32, the Lady Bears came out on fire to open the third quarter. Out of the locker room, Missouri State immediately put together a 12-4 run with baskets from five different Lady Bears to cut the Racer lead to five points. After swapping possessions, the Lady Bears had another big surge in them, outscoring Murray State 15-3 over the final 4:13 of the third quarter to lead 64-56 with a quarter to play. As a unit, the Lady Bears knocked down a season-high nine three-pointers and forced 28 Murray State turnovers on the afternoon. Missouri State also blocked seven shots and recorded 17 assists on 30 field goals.
• It was a tough start for Missouri State on the evening, with the Lady Bears shooting just 20 percent (3-for-15) to open the game. Meanwhile, Belmont shot 60 percent in the first period and reeled off an 8-0 run following MSU's first basket of the night. Trailing by four just under the halfway mark of the first, Missouri State hit a cold stretch as Belmont took advantage and finished the quarter on a 10-0 surge to lead 20-6 after a quarter.Unfortunately, that is as close as the Lady Bears would get in the comeback effort, as Belmont held the Lady Bears to 33 percent from the field in the fourth and outrebounded MSU 13-7 overall and 5-1 on the offensive glass in the final minutes.
• Bekemeier paced MSU with a career-high 14 points (5-8 FG, 2-4 3FG) and five rebounds. She was joined in double figures by Green who had 13 points, on 5-for-6 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. As a team, Missouri State led 26-15 in bench points and shot 73 percent (8-11) at the charity stripe, but was outrebounded 43-32 and lost the battle in the paint, 38-20.
• • Missouri State head coach Beth Cunningham secured her 200th career victory with an 84-74 win at Murray State on Sunday.

Murray State Racers

• Murray State women's basketball took the edge in a 75-70 nailbiter against Southern Illinois Friday night. Katelyn Young joined the 2000-point club by posting 27 points.
• Racers saw a slow start as the Salukis outscored them 29-23 in the first half. The Racers came back to score 52 points to the Salukis' 41 in the second half to clinch the game.
• Murray State are now 6-2 in Missouri Valley Conference Play and are sitting at third in the conference standings.
• Kate the Great
• Young joins the Racers 2000-point club with Macey Turley, Ashley Hayes, Ke'Shunan James and Sheila Smith. She is one of only 16 active players that has 2000-plus points in the NCAA.
• Young now has 2,015 points and is 272 points away from tying the program's scoring record.
• Miss Kentucky Basketball's Breakout
• Haven Ford posts a career-high of 17 points, tonight. The 2023 Miss Kentucky Basketball shot five for six from the floor and two for three from range.
• Murray State women's basketball falls 74-84 to Missouri State for their first home loss of the season, Sunday.
• The Racers took the early edge by outscoring the Bears 27-12 while shooting 71.43 percent from the floor.
• The Bears' responds with a high-scoring third quarter, outscoring the Racers 32-11 while shooting 68.75 percent from the floor and 85.71 percent from beyond the three-point line.
• Murray State fall short in taking the edge in the final quarter.
• Ford Keeps Going
• Haven Ford renews her career-high again with a 19-point performance. Her previous career-high came from the Racers' win over Southern Illinois, Friday.
• She posted four steals and four rebounds to go with her points.

RESCHEDULE UPDATE

The 6 p.m. CT game will air on ESPN+. The Conference has also announced the Murray State-Belmont women's basketball contest from Nashville, Tenn., has been selected as a featured MVC Game of the Week and will air on the MVC TV Network [ESPN+, Bally Sports Midwest; Bally Sports Indiana Extra; Bally Sports Kansas City; Bally Sports South (GA / NC / SC / TN / Huntsville main channel - no KY main or plus clearance due to professional content) & NBC Sports Chicago].

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS Salukis

• The Salukis had a difficult weekend, falling in both of their games against Murray State and Belmont on the road. In terms of efficiency, the offense started to click on Sunday against the Bruins, however. SIU shot 44% from the field and went 6-of-9 from three-point range, a season-best mark in terms of percentage (67%). The Salukis also were 18-of-22 at the free throw line.
• Senior guard Quierra Love continues to climb the SIU all-time steals leaderboard. Love now has 176 career steals and is one steal away from tying DD Plab for seventh at Southern Illinois. The senior has posted a total of 42 steals this season and is four away from tying her second-largest tally at SIU (46, 2021-22).