DES MOINES, Iowa – The Missouri Valley Conference has announced the slate of league games for the 2022-23 season, thus completing the Drake women's basketball schedule. The Bulldog women will compete in 28 total games including eight non-conference bouts and 20 MVC contests.
The Bulldogs will play a pair of exhibition games against Northwest Missouri State (Oct. 30) and Southwest Baptist (Dec. 18), both of which are NCAA Division II programs.
Drake will play a total of 16 home contests including a pair of exhibition games against Northwest Missouri State (Oct. 30) and Southwest Baptist (Dec. 18). The Bulldogs will open the season with three-straight non-conference home games against high-level opponents.
Drake will open the regular season slate in the newly renovated Knapp Center with the Green Bay Phoenix on Nov. 7. Green Bay has logged six NCAA Tournament appearances and seven regular season league championships in the last decade.
The Bulldog women will then play host to in-state rival Iowa. Drake and Iowa will meet for the 54th time in series history on Sunday, Nov. 13. This season's tilt will be the first between the two teams since the Hawkeyes visited the Knapp Center in the 2020-21 season.
Drake will then finish their early home swing on Nov. 19 when the Bulldogs host Nebraska, the Huskers' first trip to Des Moines since 2017, before traveling to Miami, Fla. for the FIU Thanksgiving Classic from Nov. 25-27.
NCAA Division I newcomer will head north to Des Moines on Dec. 1 before back-to-back road trips at South Dakota on Dec. 6 and Creighton on Dec. 10.
The Bulldogs will conclude their non-conference campaign on Thursday, Dec. 22 with a short trip north to Hilton Coliseum and a matchup with the Cyclones of Iowa State.
Drake then opens a challenging slate of games within the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bulldogs will open the league schedule on the road at Illinois State on Dec. 30 and then ring in the New Year at Bradley on Jan. 1.
Drake will then return to the Knapp Center for a three-game home stretch from Jan. 6 to Jan. 11 with matchups against UIC, Valparaiso, and UNI. The league schedule continues with a one-off road trip to Indiana State on Jan. 14 before two more home games against MVC newcomers Belmont (Jan. 19) and Murray State (Jan. 21).
January will conclude and February will begin with road trips to Southern Illinois (Jan. 26), Missouri State (Jan. 28), and UNI (Feb. 1).
Drake then hosts Evansville on Feb. 4 before traveling to Murray State on Feb. 10 and Belmont on Feb. 12. The Bulldogs will then end the month of February with two games in the Knapp Center on Feb. 16 (Bradley) and Feb. 18 (Illinois State) and two away from home on Feb. 23 (Valparaiso) and Feb. 25 (UIC).
The 2022-23 regular season will end with two home competitions against Missouri State on Mar. 2 and Southern Illinois on Mar. 4.
The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament will be held from Mar. 9-12 at Vibrant Arena at The MARK in Moline, Ill.
Season tickets are currently available at draketix.com/wbb. Single-game tickets will be available in October.
