Former Drake University women's basketball standout Carla Bennett is part of the 25
th Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame class, the MVC announced Wednesday, Aug. 25.
Bennett, who played from 1999-2003, is joined the longest tenured Commissioner in the history of the MVC in Doug Elgin; women's basketball coaching legend Cindy Scott of Southern Illinois; basketball playing star Cliff Levingston of Wichita State; and broadcast icons Charley Steiner of Bradley and Tom Jackson of Louisville.
A two-time All-American, Bennett led Drake to three MVC championships (two regular-season crowns and one tournament crown) and three NCAA Tournament appearances from 1999-03.
While at Drake, Bennett was a four-time All-MVC first-team selection, one of just eight league women's basketball student-athletes to earn four All-MVC first-team honors. Notably, upon her graduation in 2003 she was just the third league player to accomplish that feat, joining MVC Hall of Famers Wanda Ford of Drake (1983-86) and Jackie Stiles of Missouri State (1998-2001).
Bennett was a member of Drake's 2002 NCAA Sweet 16 Team and scored a season-high 29 points in the Bulldogs 76-72 win over No. 2 seed Baylor to advance to Sweet 16 that season.
She ranks eighth in career scoring at Drake (1,930 points), which is 14th in MVC history. Bennett also ranks in the Top 10 all-time in league history in career field goal percentage, blocked shots and rebounds.
Currently living near Philadelphia and managing the U.S. compliance operations for an international financial risk management company, Bennett was the 2000 MVC Freshman of the Year, a three-time league all-tournament selection (2000, 2001, 2002), a two-time MVC Scholar-Athlete first-team selection (2002, 2003), a member of the league's All-Defensive Team in 2002, and was a Wade Trophy Finalist. Bennett was selected to the league's 25-Year Anniversary Women's Basketball Team in 2018.
The MVC will conduct its annual Hall of Fame ceremony as part the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Championship in St. Louis, Mo., March 3-6. The Friday, March 4, festivities will begin with an 8 a.m. breakfast, followed by the induction ceremony at 8:30 a.m.
Tickets to the 2022 Hall of Fame event – scheduled to be held at Stifel Theatre, which is adjacent to Enterprise Center – can be obtained by contacting the league office at (314) 444-4300. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
