ST. CHARLES, MO. ? Drake was outscored 36-27 over the final 20 minutes as Illinois State erased a one-point halftime deficit en route to a 70-62 victory in the championship game of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Sunday (March 16) to thwart the Bulldogs' attempt at an 11th NCAA Tournament appearance.
Drake stands at 22-10 after the loss and looks towards a strong RPI number to earn it an at-large selection to the National Women's Invitational Tournament when the pairings are announced late Monday (March 17). The Redbirds advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005, improving to 26-6.
“I'm really proud of our kids and the season we've had,” Drake head coach Amy Stephens said. “Our players really want to continue to play. Illinois State was very aggressive and we really weren't able to make the adjustments in the second half that we needed to make.”
The game was decided in the final stanza as Illinois State pulled ahead on the strength of 14 second-half offensive rebounds, while outscoring the Bulldogs in the paint, 18-8.
Ashleen Bracey proved to be Illinois State's catalyst finishing the contest with a game-high 16 rebounds, including 10 in the final 20 minutes.
The Redbird went ahead for the first time and to stay, 38-37, on a jumper from Kristi Cirone, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, at the 17:24 mark.
Drake cut the margin to one, 42-41, off a jumper from senior Jill Martin (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) with 13:04 remaining.
The Bulldogs got no closer as the Redbirds slowly pulled away to capture the win.
Senior Lindsay Whorton (Independence, Mo./Truman) paced the Drake attack with a team-high 17 points, while Martin joined her in double-figures with 16.
Cirone directed three Illinois State players with 20 points, while Bracey and Maggie Krick each chipped in 14 points.
The Bulldogs finished the affair shooting 42.6 percent from the field and they held the Redbirds to a 39.1 percent shooting mark.
Illinois State won the tale of the boards, 43-29, and it used the caroms to post an 18-8 advantage in second-chance points.
Martin was named to the all-tournament team along with sophomore Monique' Jones (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit North), who finished the game with nine points.
