Although March is over, the NCAA tournament is still sitting courtside in many college fans’ minds. For Drake Bulldogs fans, this is a time to reflect on one of the most influential women’s basketball seasons in the school’s history.
With a statistically record-breaking campaign this past season, the Bulldogs will have big expectations for the 2024-25 regular season.
“The 2023-24 campaign for Drake WBB put together a record-setting campaign with a program-record 29 wins, a Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year recipient and a pair of conference championships in the regular season and league tournament,” head coach Allison Pohlman said. “We have many special moments to celebrate and are very proud of our team.”
Looking back at some of the highlights of the season, there are a few games that stood above the rest. Drake beat the Iowa State Cyclones 85-73 early in the season, putting a notable Quad 2 win (a home win against a team better than Drake) (a win against a 31-75 NET ranking team) on the board for the Bulldogs. Following this game, the Bulldogs lost 113-90 to the University of Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa. Although this game wasn’t a win for the Bulldogs, it was an important learning experience for the team as they prepared for conference play. The Bulldogs also beat Louisiana Tech 77-66 and the University of Maine 72-56 in the Knapp Center in the Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic.
Drake also had a 48-point win over North Dakota midway through the season. Two big wins were also added to the Bulldogs record during conference play with a 82-62 win over the University of Illinois Chicago and a 96-64 win over Indiana State in the last conference game before the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
These wins helped set up important conference wins that propelled the Bulldogs through the season and to an eventual MVC championship title.
“It is an expectation with all of the storied success of Drake women’s basketball to compete for championships and play deep into March,” Pohlman said. “Our trip to the NCAA Tournament is always very exciting, but the goal isn’t to just participate, it is to prepare to win games.”
Thanks to a last-second layup by forward Anna Miller, the top seeded Bulldogs were able to punch in a 76-75 win over the No. 3 seed Missouri State Lady Bears for the MVC title and a trip to the big dance. Although Drake fell to the Colorado Buffaloes in the first round, this year’s March Madness appearance was an example of just how hard the Bulldogs worked this season.
“March Madness is always a goal for our team, and it was very exciting to make the tournament,” Miller said. “Though it didn’t end how we hoped it would, we are hoping to get back to March Madness again next year.”
Looking forward to the 2024-25 season, Bulldog fans can anticipate more young talent joining the program and excitement on the court with the season’s schedule and roster set to be posted in just a few months.
Season ticket passes for men’s and women’s basketball are already live and up for grabs on the Drake Athletics ticket website.