Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament Recognizes 2020 Seniors
March 10, 2021
Quad Cities (March 10, 2021) – As the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament gets ready to start on Thursday at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Ill., Visit Quad Cities and the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) would like to recognize the 27 seniors from 2020 who missed playing in their last conference tournament and a chance to capture The Valley’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
As the world was shutting down last year in March due to COVID-19, these 27 student athletes had to just turn around and return home when the MVC tournament was canceled, along with other sporting events across the U.S., including the NCAA Tournament.
These 27 student athletes from across the country were an impressive bunch during their college career with many recording career high point totals, breaking school rebound records, capturing top three-point percentages, chart-making career assists, logging over 90 starts, and more.
At Tuesday night’s Moline City Council meeting, the 27 seniors were specifically recognized and named in the mayoral proclamation when City of Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri declared March 8-14, 2021, as Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Week.
Patty Viverito, Senior Associate Commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference, says, “My heart still breaks each time I am reminded last year’s Hoops in the Heartland was cancelled before it started, especially knowing we were on the cusp of having a record-setting season. As we return to Quad Cities for this year’s tournament, it’s amazing that two things haven’t changed—we’re still dealing with the pandemic and MVC women’s basketball is having another record-setting successful season. Thankfully, this year will end on a high note for our student-athletes when we play our tournament in the TaxSlayer Center and our teams move on to represent the MVC in the postseason.”
“Hosting student athletes in the Quad Cities during the Missouri Valley Women’s Basketball Tournament is a unique privilege,” said Dave Herrell, President and CEO, Visit Quad Cities. “Last year was incredibly disappointing to not see these amazing women compete for a conference championship. We were compelled to do something to recognize the seniors from last year’s tournament and let them know how much we appreciate them and what they had to sacrifice. Collegiate athletics is special and Visit Quad Cities is proud of the unique relationship that we have with The Valley and their member institutions.”
“It was heartbreaking that so many players experienced an abrupt end to their collegiate basketball careers last year”, says TaxSlayer Center Executive Director Scott Mullen. “This tournament is a tremendous asset to our community and it’s a great gesture by Mayor Acri and the City of Moline to acknowledge these women”.
Specific Highlights about these 2020 Seniors:
Bradley
- Amber Bozeman – Dunlap, Ill. – Had her first career double-double, Voted a team captain
- Chelsea Brackmann – New Berlin, Wis. - Broke Bradley’s career rebounding record with her 845th career rebounds, Tied for ninth in MVC history with 953 career rebounds
- Ryan Wilkins – Kansas City, Mo. – Appeared in all 29 games, shot 42 percent from three-point range
Drake
- Becca Hittner – Urbandale, Iowa – Led the league in scoring at 18.9 points for the third-straight year in 2019-20, ranks 6th in career scoring at Drake with 2,133 career points, second in career three-pointers with 258 and tops in career three-point percentage at 43.4.
- Sara Rhine – Eldon, Mo. – Ranks fifth in career scoring with 2,186 points and sixth in career rebounding at Drake with 999, finished with 999 career rebounds
- Brenni Rose – Shawnee, Kan. - Ranks 11th all-time in assists at Drake with 398 career assists, led the Valley in assists as a senior with career-high totals of 4.8 per game and 144, helped the Bulldogs rank in the top three in the nation in assists each of the last three years
Evansville
- Kaylan Coffman, Templeton, Ind. - scored 298 points and recorded 266 rebounds in four years as an Ace
Illinois State
- Frannie Corrigan – La Grange Park, Ill. – Career high of 11 points came in her sophomore season as she saw action in 27 contests
- TeTe Maggett – North Chicago, Ill. – 2019 MVC Newcomer of the Year, led the 2019-20 team in assists in 19 games, had six 20+ point performances in 2019-20
- Megan Talbot – Barrington, Ill. – Started in all but one of senior year, averaged 5.0 rebounds per game, pulling down a season-high nine boards on two occasions
- Lexi Wallen – Champaign, Ill. – Led the team in scoring on the 2019-20 season, averaging 17.2 points per game, also ranking third in the MVC in that category
Loyola
- Tiara Wallace, Berkley, Ill. – team-best 125 assists, lead the Ramblers in steals
Missouri State
- Shameka Ealy – Russellville, Ark. – ranked third on the team for blocked shots (torn ACL in Dec. of senior year)
- Alexa Willard – Lebanon, Mo. – 1st player in school history with a 45/40/90 season, started all 129 games of her career, ranked 5th nationally in free throw accuracy
UNI
- Kristina Cavey – Berthoud, Col. – College Sports Madness Player of the Week, recorded a career-high 20 points against Iowa St. in 2019 and shot 100.0% (10-10) from the free-throw line
- Abby Gerrits – Pewaukee, Wis. – Went 90.0% from the free-throw line in the 2019-20 season and went 100.0% seven times throughout the season
- Heidi Hillyard – Burlington, Iowa – Appeared in 125 total games as a Panther, shot 75.0% (12-16) from the free-throw line in the 2019-20 season
- Rose Simon-Ressler – Epworth, Iowa – Scored a career-high 18 points against Drake in the 2017-18 season
Southern Illinois
- Caitlyn Claussen – Manhattan, Kan. – Honored with the MVC’s Good Neighbor Award
- Lauren Hartman – Tremont, Ill. - Played in 110 games as a Saluki, with over 250 points and 250 rebounds
- Nicole Martin – Jefferson City, Mo. – Ranked in the top-10 in program history for both points and rebounds
- Kristen Nelson – Farmington Hills, Mich. - Ranked in the top-10 in program history for three-pointers made
- Brittney Patrick – Bolingbrook, Ill. - Ranked in the top-five in school history for assists and in the top-10 in program history for steals
Valparaiso
- Maya Meredith – Indianapolis, Ind. – set program single-game record with 16 assists vs. IU Northwest
- Alexis Cowan – Bolingbrook, Ill. – named MVC Honor Roll
- Grace Hales – Cromwell , Ind. – Ranks 2nd in Valpo history in free throw percentage, ranks 5th in MVC history in career free throw percentage, set new program single-season free throw percentage record as a senior
- Addison Stoller – Cissna Park, Ill. – Led team in rebounding each of her last two years, Ranked 3rd in MVC in steals as a junior
2021 Tournament
Even this year’s tournament will look different compared to past championships. There will be a limited amount of people connected to the tournament in the building. All players, coaches and MVC staff will be tested prior to the tournament and the TaxSlayer Center will be following strict Covid-19 guidelines during the tournament.
The TaxSlayer Center was among the first arenas in the nation to earn Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC) STAR™ accreditation. Under the guidance of GBAC, a Division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, the TaxSlayer Center has implemented the most stringent protocols for cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention in its facility and implemented best practices to prepare for, respond to, and recover from outbreaks and pandemics.
How Fans Can Engage with the 2021 Tournament
Fans will still be able to watch all nine games of the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament happening March 11-14 live on The Valley on ESPN (ESPN+). Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for a fee at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle offer. The tournament can also be followed on http://mvc-sports.com/feature/21Hoops that includes all tournament releases, bracket, live stats and ESPN+ links. Fans can also download the Hoops in the Heartland app to see the latest from your favorite Valley teams and follow all the tournament action by downloading the app here: https://hoopsintheheartland.app.link/launch
The Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament took to the court for the first time in the Quad Cities on March 10-13, 2016. Since that time, the Quad Cities has welcomed the tournament and fans annually to the regional destination for Hoops in the Heartland. The tournament annually produces more than $2M in economic impact benefiting the area’s visitor economy and provides valuable brand exposure for the QC. In addition to the event’s impact on the economy, there are several community engagement opportunities creating value and providing opportunities to showcase female student-athletes.
About Missouri Valley Conference
The MVC has seen an average of four league teams participate in postseason play in the last 21 seasons where postseason action took place, including three teams reaching postseason play in 2018-19. Before the 2019-20 season was cut short due to Covid-19, the MVC was in position to send 5 or 6 teams to postseason play. The Valley has earned multiple NCAA Tournament bids in 12 different seasons, including two out of the last three seasons (not counting 2019-20).
The 2019-20 season tied the highest RPI ranking the MVC has recorded in its history showcasing how The Valley is becoming one of the best mid-major leagues in the country. The league also saw five teams in the Top 100 of the RPI for the first time since the 1998-99 season. In 2018-19, the league posted a top-15 RPI for the first time since 2012-13 a year after seeing the league’s worst RPI in 2017-18 (24). The Valley is looking to match or surpass last year’s record numbers in 2020-21.
Year MVC RPI Top 100 RPI Teams
2020-21 7 (NET) 5 (NET)
2019-20 8 5
2018-19 14 3
2017-18 24 2
The nation’s second-oldest Division I conference; the Missouri Valley Conference continues to be a leader in college athletics and is one of the nation’s most progressive conferences, celebrating its 114th year of competition. The league consists of 10 diverse institutions across four states, whose members include Bradley, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Loyola, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois and Valparaiso. Dallas Baptist is an affiliate member for baseball, Arkansas-Little Rock is an affiliate member in women’s swimming and diving, and Stony Brook is an affiliate member in women’s tennis. Conference members have worked together to focus on common goals and objectives, putting a high value on league harmony while continuing to invest in athletic programs to compete at the highest level. The Valley brand remains very strong, both regionally and nationally, and the great athletic tradition of The Valley remains a compelling force in recruiting student-athletes and in marketing all the MVC programs. For more information, visit www.mvc-sports.com.
About Visit Quad Cities
Founded in 1990, Visit Quad Cities is the official Destination Management and Marketing Organization (DMMO) for the region. Visit Quad Cities is a private 501(c)(6) non-profit engine charged with driving economic opportunity through tourism, building our authentic brand, telling & selling the Quad Cities story, and enhancing Quad Citizens’ quality of life and quality of place.
About TaxSlayer Center
The TaxSlayer Center is one of the top grossing mid-size venues in the country, has won numerous awards since opening in 1993, and has been perennially ranked among the top 10 Arenas in the country for tickets sold and gross dollars for facilities under 12,000 seats.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ryan Davis, Assistant Commissioner for Communications, Missouri Valley Conference, 314-285-5675
Charlotte Doehler-Morrison, Vice President Marketing & Communications, Visit Quad Cities, 309-781-4235
Scott Mullen, Executive Director, TaxSlayer Center, 309-912-3802