MOLINE, ILL. – The Drake University women's basketball team plays Missouri State in the semifinals of the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Saturday, March 12 at 4 p.m. at the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill.
 
Drake (22-8) the tournament's number two seed advanced to the semifinals with a dominating 89-53 rout of No. 10 Evansville Friday night in the tournament quarterfinals. The Bulldogs made eight of their first nine three-pointers as they never trailed against the Purple Aces. Drake led by as many as 42 points as it avenged a loss to Evansville in last season's quarterfinals.
 
Every Drake player scored Friday night, led by freshman Sara Rhine's (Eldon, Mo.) game-high 17 points, as Rhine just missed her fifth career double-double with nine rebounds while sophomore Maddy Dean (Jordan, Minn.) added 16 points. Junior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) scored 14 points for her 75^th-consecutive game of reaching double digits. Junior Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) added 11 points and a game-high seven assists.
 
Drake shot 55.2 percent while holding Evansville to just 28.6 percent. The Bulldogs held Sara Dickey to just four points as the Purple Aces' leading scorer made just one field goal and went 0-of-10 from behind the three-point line.
 
No. 3 Missouri State (22-9) moved to the semifinals by beating No. 6 Indiana State, 70-45, in the game after Drake vs. Evansville. The Lady Bears led 11-10 after the first quarter, but eventually pulled away for the 20-point win behind three players scoring in double digits. Seniors Kenzie Williams and Tyonna Snow scored 19 and 16 points, respectively, while Liza Fruendt also had 16.
 
Drake and Missouri State have one of the closest head-to-head series in the MVC as the Lady Bears State hold a slight edge, 40-39, all-time. MSU is 8-5 vs. Drake in MVC Tournament games. The Lady Bears have won a league-best nine MVC Tournaments with the Bulldogs next with five titles. MSU won its last MVC tournament in 2006 while Drake won its last in 2007. Neither school has won the four-day tournament since it became a neutral site event in 2008. Drake owns a 39-22 all-time record at the MVC Tournament.
 
Saturday's winner advances to the title game set for Sunday at 2 p.m., where it will take on either No. 1 seed UNI or No. 4 seed SIU. The game will be online via The Valley On ESPN3. The winner of the four-day event claims the Valley's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.