Drake women's basketball tops Valparaiso to earn share of Missouri Valley Conference title
Allison Pohlman raised her arms and encouraged the Knapp Center crowd to recognize seniors Grace Berg and Megan Meyer after they checked out of Drake’s 82-62 win over Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon.
A few minutes later, the coach hugged senior Taylor McAulay as she walked to the bench and high-fived graduate transfer Anna Brown as fans saluted the team’s veterans. But the cheers had additional significance – they had become champions in their final home game.
Drake outlasted a scrappy Valparaiso squad to capture at least a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title and the top seed in the league’s tournament. It marked the Bulldogs’ first title since 2019, and the first of Pohlman’s three seasons as head coach.
“I do think it’s special to be able to celebrate it with our fans while they’re here, for them to witness it, and for them ultimately have a chance to be a part of it,” said Pohlman, who was an assistant coach when the Bulldogs also topped the conference in 2008, 2017, and 2018.
“This is a very tough Missouri Valley Conference, so for us to be able to capture a portion of the title today still with two games ahead of us, I think it’s a really large tribute to what our team’s been able to do.”
Drake won the MVC tournament title last season, but Berg said the season crown was the team’s goal since the preseason.
“That’s one reason that I came back,” she said. “I just had so much belief in this team and that we could do what we’ve done so far and in what we’re going to do in the tournament.”
Five players scored in double figures for Drake (24-5, 17-1 MVC), including Berg with 14, and McAulay, who added 10.
The Beacons (5-22, 4-14) never led, but freshman Saniya Jackson’s 3-pointer cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 36-31 to open the second half. The Bulldogs responded with a 16-5 run, led by six points from Berg.
Drake never led by less than 10 points the rest of the second half after sophomore Ava Hawthorne made a free throw with 5:40 left in the third quarter.
Drake held a 42-20 edge in points in the paint, helped by junior forward Anna Miller’s 12 points. Senior Courtney Becker added five layups and finished with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
“I think we have so many weapons and so many people are versatile,” Berg said. “That makes it so much more fun to play.”
Substitutions step in
Two quick fouls on Berg and Miller forced Pohlman to lean on her bench players early and often. Ten Drake players played at least two minutes in the first quarter, including freshmen Shannon Fornshell and Brooklin Dailey.
“I thought we were fantastic once our substitutions were able to come into the game,” Pohlman said. “I didn’t think that the level of play changed whatsoever.”
Drake, which committed 12 of its 17 turnovers in the first half, held a 36-28 halftime lead after Katie Dinnebier made a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining. Dinnebier, the MVC’s assist leader and second-leading scorer, finished with 11 points and seven assists.
Three seniors honored
Berg, McAulay, and Brown each addressed the crowd from the court after being recognized postgame.
Meyer, who finished with five points Saturday, wasn’t part of the Senior Day festivities. The graduate student from Mason City has eligibility remaining after joining the Bulldogs midseason, and it’s unclear whether she will return for the 2024-25 season.
Becker didn’t participate in the festivities, either. She has the option of returning for a fifth season because of an NCAA eligibility waiver option offered to athletes after the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the 2019-2020 season.
Meaningful March
The Bulldogs hit the road to finish the regular season. They meet Evansville (4-24, 2-15) on Thursday at 6 p.m., then travel to Indiana State (10-17, 6-11) on Saturday for a noon tip-off.
A win in either game or a loss by second-place Belmont earns the Bulldogs the outright regular-season crown. Belmont (21-7, 14-3) has three games remaining but is 2 ½ games back in the standings.
Then it’s on to the Missouri Valley tournament in Moline, Ill., dubbed Hoops in the Heartland, which begins March 14 at Vibrant Arena at The MARK. As the top seed, Drake earns a first-round bye and will play March 15 at noon against the winner of the eighth- and ninth-seed game the previous day.
“This is what we worked for all season,” Brown said. “All throughout summer, all throughout preseason. It’s nice to finally have this, but then we still have some work to do for the tournament, so we can’t be satisfied. But we’re very happy going into it.”
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake women's basketball tops Valparaiso for share of MVC title
