Mar 15, 2025
EVANSVILLE, IND. — Anna Miller’s 3-point basket with 28 seconds remaining lifted Drake women’s basketball to a 75-69 win over Illinois State in a quarterfinal matchup of the Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana on Friday afternoon.
The Bulldogs (22-10) advance to the semifinals to face top-seeded Murray State (23-7) at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Murray State defeated Bradley, 86-50, in a Friday quarterfinal.
Miller finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and had four of Drake’s 13 3-point baskets on Friday. Katie Dinnebier added four more for her team-leading 22 points, adding five rebounds and four assists. Courtney Becker contributed 12 points and Shannon Fornshell finished with seven points and nine rebounds.
Drake overcame 16 turnovers in Friday’s game, compared to just two for the Redbirds (21-12). Shannon Dowell led Illinois State with a game-high 30 points on 10-of-21 shooting as well as making 10-of-11 free throws.
The Redbirds led 67-62 with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter after an Addison Martin bucket. Drake answered with a Dinnebier trey, followed by six straight points from Miller as Illinois State struggled to find an answer, shooting 5-of-18 (27.7 percent) from the floor in the final quarter, including 0-of-7 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs handled the rest at the free-throw line, making 12-of-14 in the fourth quarter.
Drake led by 11 in the first half before falling behind, only to score 13 of the last 15 points of Friday’s game to secure victory.
“I’m so pleased with our maturity down the stretch,” Drake head coach Allison Pohlman said. “To finish this one out against a very good Illinois State team is a testament to our attitude. … We’re happy March madness is giving us another day here in Evansville.”
Drake is aiming for its third consecutive conference championship title and improved to 8-1 in MVC Tournament play in Pohlman’s third season as head coach.
Dinnebier’s four assists brings her career total to 770, second on Drake’s all-time list. She is the seventh player in Drake history to eclipse the 2,000-point milestone for her career, and the 12th in Missouri Valley Conference history.
Miller also became the sixth player in Drake history and fifth in the Valley with 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds, currently sitting at 1,512 points and 1,008 rebounds. It was Miller’s 10th double-double of the year as well as setting a career high with her four 3-point baskets.
The Bulldogs split their first two meetings with Murray State; the Racers dominated Drake at home, 81-59, on Jan. 18, but Drake exacted revenge with a 92-86 victory in Murray on Feb. 13.
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