The Bulldogs made it back-to-back conference championships and will be making their 15th appearance in the NCAAs.

Lacy Stokes made a left-handed runner in the lane to give the Bears their only lead of the game, 75-74, with 2.6 seconds left. Drake, which had blown a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, then called timeout, advancing the ball to the frontcourt. The Bulldogs inbounded to Courtney Becker who dumped it in to Miller, whose baby hook shot bounced on the rim a couple of times and fell in for the victory.

“I think we all knew whoever was going to shoot the ball, it was going to go in,” said Miller, “and that just speaks to the confidence that we have in each other. It just happened to be me and it happened to go in.”

Miller scored the first nine points of the third quarter and a layup by Katie Dinnebier made it an 11-0 run for the Bulldogs who led 49-35 near the 7-minute mark. Kennedy Taylor scored Missouri State’s last seven points of the quarter and the Bears got within 59-50 heading to the fourth.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DRUE WOLFE/DRAKE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

The Bulldogs (29-5) went ahead by 14 again with a little more than 7 minutes remaining. But it was nearly five minutes before they would score again as a series of turnovers and a couple of missed 3-pointers helped Missouri State rally.

Missouri State (23-9) tied it at 70, then Miller scored the next four points in the paint for Drake. Paige Rocca hit a 3-pointer — her only points of the game — to get the Bears within 74-73. Drake had a basket overturned on a shot-clock violation, then Stokes put the Bears ahead prior to Miller’s even more dramatic basket.

Miller made 11 of 12 shots and both of her free throw attempts. She also led Drake with seven rebounds. Dinnebier finished with 17 points and Grace Berg scored 16. The Bulldogs shot 54 percent and were 17-for-17 on free throws.

“The game is always one of ebbs and flows and I thought we stayed ridiculously resilient,” said Drake head coach Allison Pohlman, a Wellsburg native. “It’s never exactly what you think it’s going to be, but then when you shine and you make some things happen and you trust everybody that you’re playing with, that’s what happened today.

“(I’m) excited, extremely excited to have come out with a victory against a great Missouri State team, but we’re not done.”

Taylor led Missouri State with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Green had 17 and nine, and Stokes finished with 16 points and seven assists. Jade Masogayo had 10 points. The Bears shot 45 percent and made 10 of 13 free throws.

“Heartbreaker, just a heartbreaker,” said Missouri State coach Beth Cunningham. “Proud of our kids, they fought their tails off, gave themselves a chance.”

Drake rolled to a 24-15 lead after one quarter, then Green scored seven points in a 9-2 run to get Missouri State within 26-24 midway through the second. Missouri State got within one point on two occasions, but Drake clung to the lead, despite going six minutes without a field goal and committing five turnovers in that span. The Bulldogs, now 26-1 when leading at halftime this season, were ahead 38-35 at the break.

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament

At Vibrant Arena at the MARK, Moline, Ill.

First Round

Thursday, March 14

Indiana St. 66, Southern Illinois 54

Illinois St. 85, Evansville 64

Illinois-Chicago 79, Valparaiso 77

Murray St. 87, Bradley 49

Quarterfinals

Friday, March 15

Drake 79, Indiana St. 57

UNI 79, Illinois St. 75

Belmont 70, Illinois-Chicago 65

Missouri St. 71, Murray St. 70

Semifinals

Saturday, March 16

Drake 92, UNI 83, OT

Missouri St. 63, Belmont 48

Championship

Sunday, March 17

Drake 76, Missouri St. 75

Drake 76, Missouri St. 75

MISSOURI ST. (23-9) — Stokes 5-11 6-8 16, Masogayo 5-10 0-0 10, Daniels 3-10 0-0 7, Rocca 1-5 0-0 3, Green 8-16 0-0 17, Taylor 9-15 4-5 22, Bryant 0-1 0-0 0, Bekemeier 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS 31-69 10-13 75.

DRAKE (29-5) — McAulay 1-5 4-4 6, Dinnebier 6-8 3-3 17, Miller 11-12 2-2 25, Becker 3-5 2-2 8, Berg 5-16 6-6 16, Fornshell 2-4 0-0 4, Meyer 0-1 0-0 0, Iiams 0-0 0-0 0, Hawthorne 0-0 0-0 0, Dailey 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 28-52 17-17 76.

MISSOURI ST. 15 20 15 25 — 75

DRAKE 24 14 21 17 — 76

3-Point Goals–Missouri St. 3-16 (Rocca 1-3, Green 1-4, Daniels 1-5, Bryant 0-1, Bekemeier 0-1, Stokes 0-2), Drake 3-17 (Dinnebier 2-3, Miller 1-2, Becker 0-1, Dailey 0-1, Meyer 0-1, McAulay 0-2, Fornshell 0-2, Berg 0-5). Rebounds–Missouri St. 33 (Taylor 11), Drake 25 (Miller 7). Assists–Missouri St. 14 (Stokes 7), Drake 16 (McAulay 5). Total Fouls–Missouri St. 17, Drake 11. Fouled Out–none. A–1,305.

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