Bruins' 16-Game Win Streak Snapped in Hoops in the Heartland Championship

MOLINE, Ill. – Playing in in its third consecutive conference tournament championship game, the Belmont University women's basketball team was unable to win its seventh league tournament title in eight seasons. In their inaugural Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, the second-seeded Bruins (23-11, 17-3 MVC) fell 89-71 to a hot-handed Drake squad Sunday afternoon in the Hoops in the Heartland championship in Moline, Illinois.

The fourth-seeded Bulldogs (22-9, 14-6 MVC) controlled the game from the opening tip and shot 58.5 percent (31-of-53) form the field for the forty minutes, leading by as much as 26 late in the fourth quarter.

Belmont entered the title game 6-0 in its previous six conference tournament championships and 20-1 in league tournament games since 2016.

Despite going 13-for-26 from beyond the arc and scoring 17 points off 12 Drake turnovers, the Bruins couldn't keep the Bulldogs out of the paint. Drake held a 42-20 advantage down low and outrebounded Belmont 37-28.
 
The Bulldogs assisted on 22 of their 31 made field goals and outscored the Bruins 11-3 off the bench.
 
Belmont earned just six free throws, while Drake went 18-for-19 at the foul line.

Junior guard Destinee Wells, who was named to the MVC All-Tournament Team following her remarkable week in the Quad Cities, was simply sensational. Scoring a near career-high 34 points for the second time in three games, Wells knocked down a career-high eight three-pointers on 10 attempts.

Finishing with 96 points across the three Hoops in the Heartland games, Wells became only the second player to surpass 90 points in a single MVC Tournament. She came within seven points of Women's Basketball Hall of Fame member Jackie Stiles for the most-ever scored in a MVC Tournament.

With her game-high 34 points, Wells has scored over 30 points in three of her last four outings. The Lakeland, Tennessee (Houston HS), native had 28 in the Hoops in the Heartland semifinals Saturday and 34 in the quarterfinals Friday.

The Bulldogs scored the first four points of the afternoon and never looked back. After junior guard Blair Schoenwald drained a three to get the Bruins within a point, Drake got back-to-back baskets from Anna Miller. A 7-2 Bulldog run late in the opening quarter opened an eight-point lead for Drake and the No. 4 seed led 19-12 after the first 10 minutes of action.

Belmont began 5-for-17 from the floor and found itself down 24-12 three minutes into the second quarter. Graduate guard Sydni Harvey sparked a 10-2 Bruin run with a trey and Wells made it a four-point affair at 26-22 with another triple.
 
A floater from Harvey kept Belmont within four with just over three minutes to go in the half, but the Bulldogs closed the second quarter on an 11-2 run. Drake led 39-26 at halftime after shooting 52 percent (13-of-25) in the first half.

Despite Wells scoring 24 of the Bruins' 45 second-half points, Belmont couldn't keep pace with the Bulldogs' 50 points on 64.3 percent shooting (18-of-28). Drake went 6-for-11 from distance in the second half, while the Bruins shot 50 percent (17-of-34) from the field and went 9-for-16 from outside thanks to Wells' 6-for-7 shooting from three-point range.
 
Scoreless in the first half, sophomore guard Kilyn McGuff scored 15 points in the second 20 minutes of play.

The Bulldogs extended their lead to 18 at 51-33 with a driving layup from starting point guard Katie Dinnebier before McGuff went on a three-point tear. Hitting a trio of triples within a three-minute stretch, McGuff got Belmont within 10 at 51-41 and 11 at 55-44 with three-and-a-half minutes to go in the third quarter.

Wells connected on a pair of difficult threes in the closing 40 seconds of the third, including a deep launch at the buzzer, but Drake took a 15-point, 65-50 advantage into the final quarter.
 
The Bulldogs shot 68.8 percent (11-of-16) in the third quarter as the Bruins went 6-for-9 from long range.

After Drake's Grace Berg made it 68-50 with a three-pointer to begin the fourth, Belmont would get no closer than 16 the rest of the way. The Bruins simply could not stop the Bulldogs' high-powered offense and Drake took its largest lead of the day at 85-59 on a Sarah Beth Gueldner trey with 2:46 left.
 
Belmont finished the game on a 12-4 run.
 
McGuff went 3-for-6 from behind the arc and added five rebounds. Sophomore forward Tessa Miller had eight points and distributed a career-high tying six assists.

Five Bulldogs scored in double figures led by MVC Tournament Patty Viverito Most Outstanding Player Maggie Bair, who recorded a double-double of 19 points and 15 boards. Dinnebier also notched 19 points and dished out a game-high nine assists. Miller posted 15 points and Berg tallied 14, while Gueldner had 11. Both Dinnebier and Berg were also named to the MVC All-Tournament Team.
 
The loss snapped the Bruins' 16-game winning streak, which was tied for the fifth-longest active winning streak in the nation.
 
2023 MVC All-Tournament Team
Grace Boffeli, Northern Iowa
Destinee Wells, Belmont
Katie Dinnebier, Drake
Grace Berg, Drake
Maggie Bair, Drake – Patty Viverito Most Outstanding Player
 
Up Next
Belmont has earned an at-large berth in the 2023 Postseason WNIT as announced Sunday night with the 64-team field. The first round of the national postseason tournament will be played either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, March 15-17. The full bracket with matchup, location and game date/time will be announced Monday.
 
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