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GLVC men
No. 3 seed Truman State University captured the 2020 Great Lakes Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Championship crown on Sunday with a 53-52 victory over No. 1 seed University of Missouri-St. Louis in the First Community Arena at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois.
The Bulldogs won their first-ever league title in just their second appearance in the championship game since becoming GLVC members in 2013 and earned the Conference’s automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Division II national tournament. The 64-team field will be revealed later this evening at 10:30 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
GLVC Player of the Year Brodric Thomas, who was named to the All-Tournament Team and the Most Outstanding Player, tallied a double-double with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Truman.
Truman Teammate Cade McKnight was also named to the five-man team, while Yaakema Rose Jr. and Jose Grubbs picked up the honors for UMSL. University of Indianapolis senior Jimmy King picked up the fifth spot on the All-Tournament squad.
It was a fitting battle of the two regular season co-champions, as the game featured nine ties and 12 lead changes with no team leading by more than six points. In the end, Truman shot 47.6 percent (20-of-42) to UMSL’s 40 (22-of-55), while the Tritons held the slight edge in rebounding, 31-28.
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GLVC women
No. 1 seed and top-ranked Drury University captured the 2020 Great Lakes Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Championship title on Sunday with a 77-55 victory over No. 3 seed Lewis University in First Community Arena at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois.
The Lady Panthers won their seventh overall crown and fourth consecutive, which sets a new league record. With the victory, Drury (32-0) earned the Conference’s automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Division II national tournament, as the 64-team field will be revealed later this evening at 10 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
Drury senior forward, Hailey Diestelkamp, who was named to the All-Tournament Team and won her third-straight Most Outstanding Player honor, flirted with a triple-double and was eyeing a quadruple-double thanks to a game-high 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals, and six assists.
Drury sophomore guard Paige Robinson – who scored 22 and had a career-high nine boards in the win – joined Diestelkamp on the All-Tournament Team for her second-straight selection, while Lewis senior Rachel Hinders won her second All-Tournament honor with classmate Morgan Glatczk also voted to the team. Lindenwood senior Kallie Bildner rounded out the five-player squad.
Though she wasn’t voted to the All-Tournament team, it’s worth noting that senior guard Daejah Bernard collected three steals to become just the third player in program history to surpass 400 in her career.
Lewis shot better than Drury in all categories, going 23-of-55 (.418) from the field compared to 27-of-76 (.355); 6-of-14 (.429) from long range compared to 6-of-16 (.375); and 3-of-4 (.750) from the foul line compared to 17-of-24 (.708). The Panthers, however, scored 31 points off 34 Lewis turnovers, while both teams had 28 points in the paint.
Drury’s 32-straight wins set a program record in consecutive wins, and the team completed an undefeated Conference regular season while winning a postseason crown for the second year in a row.
Photo/Ian Echlin
MIAA men
Northwest Missouri won the 2020 MIAA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Citizens Bank & Trust with a 78-76 victory over Missouri Southern. The Bearcats won their fifth straight title, the longest streak since the Association started a postseason tournament in 1981.
NW built a 45-33 halftime lead behind zero turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of action. But the Lions chipped away at the lead in the second half as they tied the game with 3:07 on a free-throw by Cam Martin. But Northwest answered back the next possession when Trevor Hudgins connected an and-one opportunity to put the lead to 70-67 and they would never relinquish the lead.
Hudgins and Martin both netted a game-high 31 points to lead their respective teams. Martin also pulled in 11 rebounds as he and NW’s Diego Bernard both finished with double-doubles. Bernard ended with 20 points and 10 rebounds. MSSU was also led by Elyjah Clark with 14 points as the Bearcats received 18 points from Wes Dreamer.
Photo/Ian Echlin
MIAA women
Central Missouri won the 2020 MIAA Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament presented by Citizens Bank & Trust. The Jennies defeated second-seeded Emporia State 82-75 to win their first tournament title since 1990.
UCM started fast as it scored 24 points in the opening quarter which propelled them to a 45-40 halftime advantage. But the Lady Hornets turned up the defense in the third quarter, as they limited the Jennies to just 10 points and a 25 percent shooting percentage. But UCM flipped the script as it outscored ESU 27-13 in the fourth quarter.
Nija Collier led Central Missouri with a double-double as she recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds. Morgan Fleming and Megan Skaggs each added 19 points. Emporia State was led by Mollie Mounsey’s 37 points as was 12-of-20 from the field and 7-of-13 from the three-point arc. Her 37 points are the most in an MIAA championship game; she also set an Association record for most points in a tournament with 87.
Stories courtesy GLVC and MIAA
