2023–24 Drake Bulldogs women's basketball team

2023–24 Drake Bulldogs women's basketball
MVC regular season and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record29–6 (19–1 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Nicci Hays Fort
  • Whitney Moia
  • Kelli Greenway
Home arenaKnapp Center
Seasons
2023–24 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Drake † 19 – 1   .950 29 – 6   .829
Belmont 17 – 3   .850 26 – 9   .743
Missouri State 15 – 5   .750 23 – 10   .697
Northern Iowa 14 – 6   .700 16 – 16   .500
Illinois State 13 – 7   .650 22 – 12   .647
Murray State 12 – 8   .600 20 – 12   .625
UIC 10 – 10   .500 18 – 16   .529
Southern Illinois 6 – 14   .300 11 – 20   .355
Indiana State 6 – 14   .300 11 – 21   .344
Valparaiso 4 – 16   .200 5 – 25   .167
Bradley 2 – 18   .100 6 – 26   .188
Evansville 2 – 18   .100 4 – 28   .125
† 2024 MVC tournament winner

The 2023–24 Drake Bulldogs women's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by third-year head coach Allison Pohlman, played their home games at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2022–23 season 22–10, 14–6 in MVC play, to finish in a tie for fourth place.[1] In the MVC tournament, they defeated Missouri State in the quarterfinals,[2] upset top-seeded Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball in the semifinals[3] and Belmont to win the MVC tournament championship and earn the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.[4] They received the #12 seed in the Seattle Regional 4,[5] where they would lose to #5 region seed Louisville in the first round.[6]

Roster

2023–24 Drake Bulldogs women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Hannah Nilges 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Jr Jefferson City High School Jefferson City, MO
G 3 Taylor McAulay 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) RS Sr Centennial High School Lino Lakes, MN
G 4 Shannon Fornshell 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Wayzata High School Plymouth, MN
G 10 Katie Dinnebier 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr Waukee High School West Des Moines, IA
G 11 Megan Meyer 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) GS Mason City High School Mason City, IA
F 12 Ashley Iiams 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Jr Ames High School Ames, IA
C 14 Anna Miller 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Jr Rochester Mayo High School Rochester, MN
G 20 Emily Christenson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Fr East Ridge High School Woodbury, MN
G 21 Ava Hawthorne 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Gilbert High School Ames, IA
G 22 Brooklin Dailey 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Southeast Polk High School Pleasant Hill, IA
G 24 Anna Brown 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) GS Loyola Chicago Waukee, IA
F 30 Taedyn Gray (Injured) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Shawnee Mission West High School Lenexa, KS
F 32 Courtney Becker 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr La Crosse Aquinas High School Fountain City, WI
F 43 Grace Berg 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) GS Indianola High School Indianola, IA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: March 3, 2024

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 29, 2023*
2:00 p.m. 		Upper Iowa W 87–40  –
 Knapp Center (1,858)
Des Moines, IA
November 1, 2023*
6:00 p.m. 		Winona State W 94–60  –
 Knapp Center (1,609)
Des Moines, IA
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		St. Thomas W 94–69  1–0
 Knapp Center (2,108)
Des Moines, IA
November 9, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Saint Louis W 78–66  2–0
 Chaifetz Arena (602)
St. Louis, MO
November 12, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Iowa State W 85–73  3–0
 Knapp Center (4,203)
Des Moines, IA
November 19, 2023*
6:00 p.m., FS1 		at No. 2 Iowa L 90–113  3–1
 Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,998)
Iowa City, IA
November 24, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Louisiana Tech
Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic 		W 77–66  4–1
 Knapp Center (1,734)
Des Moines, IA
November 25, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Richmond
Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic 		L 66–74  4–2
 Knapp Center (1,861)
Des Moines, IA
November 26, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Maine
Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic 		W 72–56  5–2
 Knapp Center (1,765)
Des Moines, IA
December 2, 2023*
1:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Minnesota L 88–94 2OT 5–3
 Williams Arena (4,578)
Minneapolis, MN
December 8, 2023*
11:00 a.m., ESPN+ 		North Dakota State W 77–67  6–3
 Knapp Center (6,424)
Des Moines, IA
December 17, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 20 Creighton L 78–89  6–4
 Knapp Center (3,108)
Des Moines, IA
December 21, 2023*
12:00 p.m., MidcoSN/SLN 		at North Dakota W 108–60  7–4
 Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,361)
Grand Forks, ND
MVC regular season
December 30, 2023
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Southern Illinois W 78–59  8–4
(1–0) 		Banterra Center (672)
Carbondale, IL
January 4, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Indiana State W 77–47  9–4
(2–0) 		Knapp Center (1,843)
Des Moines, IA
January 6, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Evansville W 78–68  10–4
(3–0) 		Knapp Center (2,193)
Des Moines, IA
January 12, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Valparaiso W 83–54  11–4
(4–0) 		Athletics–Recreation Center (233)
Valparaiso, IN
January 14, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UIC W 82–62  12–4
(5–0) 		Credit Union 1 Arena (1,121)
Chicago, IL
January 19, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Belmont W 69–65  13–4
(6–0) 		Knapp Center (2,134)
Des Moines, IA
January 21, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Murray State W 107–98  14–4
(7–0) 		Knapp Center (2,184)
Des Moines, IA
January 25, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Bradley W 77–65  15–4
(8–0) 		Renaissance Coliseum (393)
Peoria, IL
January 27, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Illinois State L 70–79  15–5
(8–1) 		CEFCU Arena (2,487)
Normal, IL
February 3, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Northern Iowa W 79–71  16–5
(9–1) 		McLeod Center (4,368)
Cedar Falls, IA
February 8, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Bradley W 71–60  17–5
(10–1) 		Knapp Center (2,262)
Des Moines, IA
February 10, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Illinois State W 79–64  18–5
(11–1) 		Knapp Center (3,792)
Des Moines, IA
February 15, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Murray State W 81–75  19–5
(12–1) 		CFSB Center (1,762)
Murray, KY
February 17, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Belmont W 77–71  20–5
(13–1) 		Curb Event Center (1,191)
Nashville, TN
February 22, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Missouri State W 76–65  21–5
(14–1) 		Knapp Center (2,448)
Des Moines, IA
February 25, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Northern Iowa W 79–77  22–5
(15–1) 		Knapp Center (3,646)
Des Moines, IA
February 29, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UIC W 84–63  23–5
(16–1) 		Knapp Center (2,288)
Des Moines, IA
March 2, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Valparaiso W 82–62  24–5
(17–1) 		Knapp Center (2,303)
Des Moines, IA
March 7, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Evansville W 86–53  25–5
(18–1) 		Meeks Family Fieldhouse (167)
Evansville, IN
March 9, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Indiana State W 96–64  26–5
(19–1) 		Hulman Center (1,261)
Terre Haute, IN
MVC tournament
March 15, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		(1) vs. (9) Indiana State
Quarterfinals 		W 79–57  27–5
 Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,515)
Moline, IL
March 16, 2024
1:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		(1) vs. (4) Northern Iowa
Semifinals 		W 92–83  28–5
 Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,747)
Moline, IL
March 17, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN+ 		(1) vs. (3) Missouri State
Finals 		W 76–75  29–5
 Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,305)
Moline, IL
NCAA women's tournament
March 22, 2024*
6:00 p.m., ESPNews 		(12 A2) vs. (5 A2) No. 17 Colorado
First round 		L 72–86  29–6
 Bramlage Coliseum (9,642)
Manhattan, KS
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
A2=Albany 2.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[7][8]

References

  1. ^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Standings". Missouri Valley Conference. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  2. ^ "Bulldog Bigs Lead Drake Over Missouri State in 83-63 Rout". Drake University Athletics. March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  3. ^ Southard, Dargan (March 11, 2023). "Drake women's basketball rolls into MVC Tournament final with blowout win over Illinois State". Des Moines Register. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  4. ^ Organ, Mike (March 12, 2023). "Belmont women's basketball misses automatic NCAA Tournament berth after losing to Drake in MVC championship". The Tennessean. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  5. ^ "2023 Division I Women's Basketball Official Bracket". NCAA.com. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  6. ^ McGavic, Matthew (March 18, 2023). "Louisville Outlasts Drake in NCAA Tournament Opener". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  7. ^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Drake University Athletics. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  8. ^ "Drake Bulldogs Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved March 3, 2024.