Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament
Collegiate basketball tournament
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
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
^ 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
† Former member of the MVC
See also
References
^ "WBB Tournament Championship: Drake 74, UNI 69 (OT)" . The Valley (Missouri Valley Conference) . March 12, 2017. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017.
^ "WBB Tournament Championship: Drake 75, UNI 63" . Missouri Valley Conference. March 11, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2019 .
^ "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 .
^ "Valley Champs Set to Dance" . Bradley University. March 14, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021 .
^ "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 .
^ "MVC Hoops in the Heartland Championship - Drake 89, Belmont 71" (Press release). Missouri Valley Conference. March 12, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023 .
^ "Drake Punches Its Ticket to NCAA Tournament" . Missouri Valley Conference . March 17, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024 .
Teams Tournament & awards Seasons
NCAA women's college basketball tournaments
Division I
Early season Conference postseason Postseason
Division II
Conference postseason Postseason
Division III