Becca Hittner, the two-time Missouri Valley player of the year, scored 16 of her 22 points in the second half to propel No. 21 Drake into the conference tournament championship game with a 65-54 win over fourth-seeded Illinois State on Saturday.
Sara Rhine was nearly perfect, Becca Hittner scored 23 points and No. 22 Drake clinched at least a share of its third straight Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship, defeating Illinois State 88-61 on Thursday night.
Illinois State has fired women's basketball coach Barb Smith following the Redbirds' worst four-year stretch in program history.
Illinois State has hired former Saint Louis associate head coach Barb Smith as its new women's basketball coach.
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drake | 17-1 | - | 27-7 |
| Missouri St | 16-2 | 1 | 25-10 |
| Northern Iowa | 12-6 | 5 | 20-13 |
| Illinois State | 11-7 | 6 | 19-12 |
| Bradley | 10-8 | 7 | 20-10 |
| Southern Illinois | 8-10 | 9 | 15-15 |
| Loyola (Chi) | 6-12 | 11 | 13-18 |
| Indiana State | 5-13 | 12 | 11-19 |
| Valparaiso | 3-15 | 14 | 8-24 |
| Evansville | 2-16 | 15 | 4-26 |
