MOLINE, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team saw its season come to an end Friday in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, as the Redbirds (8-23) fell to No. 20/19 Drake, 64-40, inside the iWireless Center. The No. 1 seed Bulldogs (26-4) increased their win streak to 20 games and advanced to Saturday's semifinals against either No. 4 seed Southern Illinois or No. 5 seed Wichita State.
Illinois State played one of its most-inspired games on the defensive end all season. The Redbirds held Drake, who entered the game averaging 83.9 points per game, to their third-lowest total of the season, as the Bulldogs scoring averaging ranks seventh in the country.