Miller's late three lifts Drake past Illinois State
WBB: The Bulldogs will face Murray State in the semifinals on Saturday
#4-seed Drake closed the game on a 9-2 run in the final 28 seconds to knock off #5-seed Illinois State, 75-69, in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals Friday afternoon.
With the Bulldogs trailing 67-66 in the final minute, senior forward Anna Miller hit, arguably, the biggest shot of the season for Drake.
Miller had 21 points and ten rebounds in the win, as she became just the sixth player in program history to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career.
Katie Dinnebier, the Jackie Stiles Award winner, given to the Missouri Valley Conference’s Player of the Year, led Drake with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists.
With the win, Drake advances to Saturday’s semifinal against Murray State. This is the third-straight year the Bulldogs have reached the tournament semifinals after winning the championship in both 2023 and 2024. The game will start at 1:30pm at the Ford Center in Evansville. Each team won on the opponents’ home floor earlier this year. Murray State won in Des Moines, 81-59, on January 18th. Drake won in Murray, 92-86, on February 13th.