Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament

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Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament
Conference basketball championship
SportCollege basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Number of teams10
FormatSingle-elimination tournament
Current stadiumVibrant Arena at The MARK
Current locationMoline, Illinois
Played1983, 1987–1992 (as Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament)
1993–present (as MVC Tournament)
Last contest2024
Current championDrake Bulldogs
Most championshipsMissouri State Lady Bears (11)
Official websiteMVC-Sports.com Women's Basketball

The Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament, currently promoted as Hoops in the Heartland, is an annual basketball tournament which features the women's basketball teams of each of the Missouri Valley Conference member universities. The tournament determines which MVC team receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

First held at the end of the 1982–83 basketball season, the tournament was originally conducted by the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference, a women's sports conference formed in that school year by six MVC members plus four members of what is now known as the Summit League. In 1985, the Gateway took on football as its only men's sport. Following the 1991–92 school year, the MVC absorbed the women's side of the Gateway (which by that time had eight MVC members) and spun off its football side into what is now the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The MVC maintains all historic records of Gateway women's sports.

Tournament champions by year

Year Champion Score Runner-up Tournament MVP Location
1983 Illinois State 62–54 Southern Illinois None Selected Horton Field House • Normal, Illinois
1984 Not Held
1985
1986
1987 Southern Illinois 53–51 Eastern Illinois None Selected SIU Arena • Carbondale, Illinois
1988 Eastern Illinois 80–79 Illinois State None Selected Horton Field House • Normal, Illinois
1989 Illinois State 70–53 Southern Illinois None Selected
1990 Southern Illinois 71–54 Illinois State Amy Rakers, Southern Illinois SIU Arena • Carbondale, Illinois
1991 Southwest Missouri State[a] 74–61 Southern Illinois None Selected Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri
1992 Southwest Missouri State[a] 86–69 Southern Illinois None Selected
1993 Southwest Missouri State[a] 54–53 Southern Illinois None Selected
1994 Southwest Missouri State[a] 88–71 Creighton Tina Robbins, Southwest Missouri State
1995 Drake 71–68 (OT) Southwest Missouri State[a] Tricia Wakely, Drake
1996 Southwest Missouri State[a] 59–56 Illinois State LaTanya Davis, Southwest Missouri State Redbird Arena • Normal, Illinois
1997 Drake 78–59 Wichita State Keisha Cox, Drake Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri
1998 Drake 73–59 Southwest Missouri State[a] Tammi Blackstone, Drake
1999 Evansville 75–72 (OT) Creighton Shyla McKibbon, Evansville Redbird Arena • Normal, Illinois
2000 Drake 70–67 Southwest Missouri State[a] Jackie Stiles, Southwest Missouri State Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri
2001 Southwest Missouri State[a] 84–69 Drake Jackie Stiles, Southwest Missouri State
2002 Creighton 77–74 Drake Christy Neneman, Creighton
2003 Southwest Missouri State[a] 64–55 Indiana State Kari Koch, Southwest Missouri State Knapp Center • Des Moines, Iowa
2004 Southwest Missouri State[a] 74–67 Drake Jenni Lingor, Missouri State Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri
2005 Illinois State 72–70 Indiana State Jaci McCormack, Illinois State Redbird Arena • Normal, Illinois
2006 Missouri State 64–55 Indiana State Kari Koch, Missouri State Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri
2007 Drake 65–64 (OT) Creighton Lindsay Whorton, Drake Knapp Center • Des Moines, Iowa
2008 Illinois State 70–62 Drake Kristi Cirone, Illinois State Family Arena • St. Charles, Missouri
2009 Evansville 47–45 Creighton Ashley Austin, Evansville
2010 Northern Iowa 54–53 Creighton Lizzie Boeck, Northern Iowa
2011 Northern Iowa 69–41 Missouri State Jacqui Kalin, Northern Iowa
2012 Creighton 53–38 Drake Carli Tritz, Creighton
2013 Wichita State 69–65 Illinois State Alex Harden, Wichita State
2014 Wichita State 73-49 Drake Alex Harden, Wichita State
2015 Wichita State 85–71 Missouri State Alex Harden, Wichita State
2016 Missouri State 73–49 Northern Iowa Tyonna Snow, Missouri State iWireless Center • Moline, Illinois
2017 Drake 74–69 (OT)[1] Northern Iowa Caitlin Ingle, Drake
2018 Drake 75–63[2] Northern Iowa Maddy Dean, Drake
2019 Missouri State 94–79[3] Drake Alexa Willard, Missouri State
2020 Canceled due to COVID-19
2021 Bradley 78-70[4] Drake Gabi Haack, Bradley TaxSlayer Center • Moline, Illinois
2022 Illinois State 50–48[5] Northern Iowa JuJu Redmond, Illinois State
2023 Drake 89–71[6] Belmont Maggie Bair, Drake Vibrant Arena at The MARK • Moline, Illinois
2024 Drake 76–75[7] Missouri State Katie Dinnebier, Drake
2025 Murray State 83-62 Belmont Katelyn Young, Murray State Ford Center • Evansville, Indiana
2026 Xtream Arena • Coralville, Iowa
2027 Vibrant Arena at The MARK • Moline, Illinois
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Became Missouri State effective with the 2005–06 school year.

Tournament championships by school

School Championships Last Won
Missouri State 11 2019
Drake 9 2024
Illinois State 5 2022
Wichita State 3 2015
Creighton 2 2012
Northern Iowa 2 2011
Evansville 2 2009
Southern Illinois 2 1990
Murray State 1 2025
Bradley 1 2021
Eastern Illinois 1 1988
  • Schools highlighted in pink are former members of the MVC
  • Belmont, Indiana State, UIC, and Valparaiso have never won the MVC Tournament.

See also

References

  1. ^ "WBB Tournament Championship: Drake 74, UNI 69 (OT)". The Valley (Missouri Valley Conference). March 12, 2017. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017.
  2. ^ "WBB Tournament Championship: Drake 75, UNI 63". Missouri Valley Conference. March 11, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  3. ^ "Lady Bears Capture 11th MVC Tourney Title with 94-79 Win Over No. 21 Drake". Missouri Valley Conference. March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  4. ^ "Valley Champs Set to Dance". Bradley University. March 14, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  5. ^ "Illinois State Claims MVC WBB Tournament Title with 50-48 Win Over UNI" (Press release). Missouri Valley Conference. March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  6. ^ "MVC Hoops in the Heartland Championship - Drake 89, Belmont 71" (Press release). Missouri Valley Conference. March 12, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  7. ^ "Drake Punches Its Ticket to NCAA Tournament". Missouri Valley Conference. March 17, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.