MOLINE, Ill. – The Drake University women's basketball team won their eighth MVC Tournament championship this afternoon in an 89-71 defeat of regular season co-champion Belmont (23-11, 17-3). The Bulldogs (22-9, 14-6) won all four quarters in a convincing title triumph to earn their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last six seasons.
 
Maggie Bair led Drake with 15 rebounds to go along with 19 points to match Katie Dinnebier for the team high in scoring. Dinnebier also added nine assists. Both players earned All-Tournament Team honors as Bair collected the Patty Viverito Outstanding Player award.
 
The three remaining Drake starters also scored in double figures as Anna Miller poured in 15, Grace Berg 14, and Sarah Beth Gueldner 11 including three made three-pointers. Berg joined Dinneber and Bair on the All-Tournament team for her efforts.
 
Dinnebier got the Bulldogs on the board first with a pair of free throws after Drake forced a Belmont miss to start the game. Maggie Bair followed with back-to-back scores to give Drake an early 6-2 lead.
 
Moments later, Anna Miller joined the party with two quick ones of her own in transition as the Bulldogs opened a 10-5 lead at the first media timeout with 4:53 left in the first quarter.
 
Belmont chipped away, getting back within three by holding the Bulldogs scoreless for nearly three minutes. Grace Berg ended the Bruins' first quarter rally with a three from the left wing before Katie Dinnebier sank two free throws to extend Drake's advantage back to eight.
 
With the first quarter clock winding down, Taylor McAulay scored her first points of the game on a floater as time expired to give the Bulldogs a 19-12 advantage after one.
 
Drake picked up right where they left off to start the second quarter, outscoring Belmont 5-0 in the quarter's first 2:45. Sarah Beth Gueldner got into the scorebook with a corner three in transition to force a Bruin timeout.
 
The Bruins came out of their break regrouped and ready to battle back. Star guard Destinee Wells contributed five points in a 12-4 Belmont run as the MVC co-champions narrowed their deficit to just four points.
 
The Bulldogs responded with an 8-0 run of their own over two minutes to widen their lead again. Drake went into the half controlling a 39-26 lead. Maggie Bair led all players with 11 points and 10 rebounds at the half, marking her 13th double-double of the season.
 
After the half, Wells did her best to spark another Belmont rally with a deep three to maintain the 12-point gap. The Bulldogs answered with a triple of their own, this time from Bair for her second of the contest. Courtney Becker matched Bair with her first three-pointer of the game, and fourth-straight make over Drake's last two games. Dinnebier added to the Bulldog run with a dribble drive deuce to give the Dogs a 51-33 lead, their largest of the game up to that point.
 
Belmont bounced back, though, as Kilyn McGuff drilled back-to-back threes and cut Drake's lead to 10. Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman elected to burn a timeout with 5:02 left in the third quarter as Drake held on to a 51-41 advantage. Dinnebier came out of the timeout stopped the Bruins' 8-0 run with a scoop shot off the glass.
 
McGuff answered again for the Bruins with another wide-open trey with just over three minutes to go in the period. Anna Miller came through again for Drake with a traditional three-point play to put to Bulldogs back in front by 14.
 
Ava Hawthorne added her first points of the tournament before Gueldner hit her second three of the game to give Drake a 65-50 lead with 10 minutes to play.
 
The Bruins never seriously challenged Drake in the final quarter as the Bulldogs built their lead over 20 points on a few different occasions. Drake cruised through the final 10 minutes and secured the 89-71 victory and a berth in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
 
Drake will travel to Austin, Texas for a neutral site matchup in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs will face off against No. 5 seed Louisville on Saturday, Mar. 18.
 
 
 
TEAM NOTES

• Drake, winning its fifth-straight game, improved its record to 22-9 overall, marking the 18th time in program history the Bulldogs have won 21 or more games in a season including six of the last eight years.
• Drake won its eighth MVC Tournament championship, and first since going back-to-back in 2017-18, while improving its record in MVC Tournament games to 50-26.
• Drake is now 43-4 as the No. 4 seed at the MVC Tournament.
• Drake's win marked the fifth time a No. 4 seed has won the MVC Tournament title.
• Both Drake men's and women's basketball programs won their respective tournaments in the same season for the first time in school history and just the seventh time in Valley history.
• 21 of Drake's 22 wins have come by double digits.
• The Bulldogs are now 14-3 in Moline, the most wins the MVC Tournament play since the event has been hosted in the Quad Cities.
• Drake outrebounded Illinois State 37-28 and are now 21-6 when outrebounding their opponent.
• Drake is now 5-0 in the month of March.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Maggie Bair logged her 13th double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
• Bair's 19 points matched Katie Dinnebier's output for the team-high.
• Both Bair and Dinnebier, along with Grace Berg, earned All-Tournament Team honors.
• Bair is now 31st on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list with 1,173 points and fourth on the blocks chart with 147 rejections including a career-high seven in the finals win over Belmont.
• Berg added 14 points while Anna Miller poured in 15 and Sarah Beth Gueldner 11 to mark the third time this season that all five of Drake's starters have scored in double figures.
• Berg is now tied for 27th on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list with 1,212 points.
• Miller also merited the Elite 17 Award for her prowess on the court and in the classroom.
• Dinnebier made 13-of-14 free throw attempts vs. Belmont, a career high in makes and attempts.
• Her free throw numbers also tied for third all-time in Valley tourney history.
• Dinnebier is now eighth all-time in single-season assits at Drake with 178.
• Anna Miller is now fifth on Drake's all-time blocks record list with 122 in just 65 games. She is third in single-season blocks with 72.
• Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman is now 42-23 overall. Only one other Drake coach has won more games in her first two seasons (Lisa Stone, 48-15, 2000-02).

THE SERIES

• Drake leads the series with Belmont by a 2-1 margin with all three games played this season.