| Year: | 2023 |
| Conference: | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Division: | I |
| Gender: | Women's |
| Teams: | 12 |
| Arena: | Vibrant Arena at The MARK |
| City: | Moline, Illinois |
| Champions: | Drake Bulldogs |
| Titlecount: | 8th |
| Coach: | Allison Pohlman |
| Coachcount: | 1st |
| Mvp: | Maggie Bair |
| Mvpteam: | Drake |
| Television: | MVC TV, ESPNU |
The 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, marketed as "Hoops in the Heartland", was a postseason women's basketball tournament that completed the 2022–23 season in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). The tournament was held at the Vibrant Arena at The MARK in Moline, Illinois, from March 9–12, 2023. Drake won the tournament, claiming the MVC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.[1]
For the first time, the tournament featured 12 teams. Belmont, Murray State, and UIC joined the conference in 2022 following Loyola Chicago's exit.
Teams are seeded by conference record, with ties broken by the overall record in conference games played between the tied teams, then (if necessary) by comparison of records between the tying institutions versus the top team in the standings (and continuing from top to bottom of standings, as necessary, with the team having the better record against that team receiving the better seed). The top four seeds receive opening-round byes.[2]
| Seed | School | Conference | Tiebreaker 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois State | 17-3 | 1-0 vs. Belmont | |
| 2 | Belmont | 17-3 | 0-1 vs. Illinois State | |
| 3 | Northern Iowa | 16-4 | ||
| 4 | Drake | 14-6 | 1-1 vs. Belmont | |
| 5 | Missouri State | 14-6 | 0-2 vs. Belmont | |
| 6 | UIC | 9-11 | ||
| 7 | Southern Illinois | 8-12 | ||
| 8 | Murray State | 7-13 | ||
| 9 | Evansville | 6-14 | 2-0 vs. Indiana State | |
| 10 | Indiana State | 6-14 | 0-2 vs. Evansville | |
| 11 | Valparaiso | 5-15 | ||
| 12 | Bradley | 1-19 |
| Game | Time * | Matchup | Score | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening Round Thursday, March 9 | |||||
| 1 | 12:00 pm | No. 8 Murray State vs. No. 9 Evansville | 88–46 | MVC TV | |
| 2 | 2:30 pm | No. 5 Missouri State vs. No. 12 Bradley | 71–53 | ||
| 3 | 6:00 pm | No. 7 Southern Illinois vs. No. 10 Indiana State | 81–79 | ||
| 4 | 8:30 pm | No. 6 UIC vs. No. 11 Valparaiso | 72–47 | ||
| Quarterfinals Friday, March 10 | |||||
| 5 | 12:00 pm | No. 1 Illinois State vs. No. 8 Murray State | 75–73 | MVC TV | |
| 6 | 2:30 pm | No. 4 Drake vs. No. 5 Missouri State | 73–70 | ||
| 7 | 6:00 pm | No. 2 Belmont vs. No. 7 Southern Illinois | 70–64 | ||
| 8 | 8:30 pm | No. 3 Northern Iowa vs. No. 6 UIC | 73–57 | ||
| Semifinals Saturday, March 11 | |||||
| 9 | 1:30 pm | No. 1 Illinois State vs. No. 4 Drake | 54–74 | MVC Network | |
| 10 | 4:00 pm | No. 2 Belmont vs. No. 3 Northern Iowa | 69–62 | ||
| Final Sunday, March 12 | |||||
| 11 | 1:00 pm | No. 4 Drake vs. No. 2 Belmont | – | ESPNU | |
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