# 2023–24 Drake Bulldogs women's basketball team

The 2023–24 Drake Bulldogs women's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by third-year head coach Allison Pohlman, played their home games at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).
The Bulldogs finished the season 29–6, 19–1 in MVC play, to finish in first place. In the MVC tournament, they defeated Indiana State in the quarterfinals, Northern Iowa in the semifinals, and Missouri State to win the MVC tournament championship and earn the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. They received the #12 seed in the Albany Regional 2, where they would lose to #5 region seed Colorado in the first round.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2022–23 season 22–10, 14–6 in MVC play, to finish in a tie for fourth place. In the MVC tournament, they defeated Missouri State in the quarterfinals, upset top-seeded Illinois State in the semifinals and Belmont to win the MVC tournament championship and earn the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. They received the #12 seed in the Seattle Regional 4, where they lost to #5 region seed Louisville in the first round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 29, 2023* 2:00 p.m. | | Upper Iowa | W 87–40 | – | Knapp Center (1,858) Des Moines, IA |
| November 1, 2023* 6:00 p.m. | | Winona State | W 94–60 | – | Knapp Center (1,609) Des Moines, IA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | St. Thomas | W 94–69 | 1–0 | Knapp Center (2,108) Des Moines, IA |
| November 9, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Saint Louis | W 78–66 | 2–0 | Chaifetz Arena (602) St. Louis, MO |
| November 12, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Iowa State | W 85–73 | 3–0 | Knapp Center (4,203) Des Moines, IA |
| November 19, 2023* 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | at No. 2 Iowa | L 90–113 | 3–1 | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,998) Iowa City, IA |
| November 24, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana Tech Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic | W 77–66 | 4–1 | Knapp Center (1,734) Des Moines, IA |
| November 25, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Richmond Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic | L 66–74 | 4–2 | Knapp Center (1,861) Des Moines, IA |
| November 26, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Maine Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic | W 72–56 | 5–2 | Knapp Center (1,765) Des Moines, IA |
| December 2, 2023* 1:00 p.m., B1G+ | | at Minnesota | L 88–94 $^{2OT}$ | 5–3 | Williams Arena (4,578) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 8, 2023* 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | | North Dakota State | W 77–67 | 6–3 | Knapp Center (6,424) Des Moines, IA |
| December 17, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 20 Creighton | L 78–89 | 6–4 | Knapp Center (3,108) Des Moines, IA |
| December 21, 2023* 12:00 p.m., MidcoSN/SLN | | at North Dakota | W 108–60 | 7–4 | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,361) Grand Forks, ND |
| MVC regular season ||||||
| December 30, 2023 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | W 78–59 | 8–4 (1–0) | Banterra Center (672) Carbondale, IL |
| January 4, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Indiana State | W 77–47 | 9–4 (2–0) | Knapp Center (1,843) Des Moines, IA |
| January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 78–68 | 10–4 (3–0) | Knapp Center (2,193) Des Moines, IA |
| January 12, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | W 83–54 | 11–4 (4–0) | Athletics–Recreation Center (233) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 14, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UIC | W 82–62 | 12–4 (5–0) | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,121) Chicago, IL |
| January 19, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Belmont | W 69–65 | 13–4 (6–0) | Knapp Center (2,134) Des Moines, IA |
| January 21, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Murray State | W 107–98 | 14–4 (7–0) | Knapp Center (2,184) Des Moines, IA |
| January 25, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Bradley | W 77–65 | 15–4 (8–0) | Renaissance Coliseum (393) Peoria, IL |
| January 27, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | L 70–79 | 15–5 (8–1) | CEFCU Arena (2,487) Normal, IL |
| February 3, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | W 79–71 | 16–5 (9–1) | McLeod Center (4,368) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 8, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bradley | W 71–60 | 17–5 (10–1) | Knapp Center (2,262) Des Moines, IA |
| February 10, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Illinois State | W 79–64 | 18–5 (11–1) | Knapp Center (3,792) Des Moines, IA |
| February 15, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Murray State | W 81–75 | 19–5 (12–1) | CFSB Center (1,762) Murray, KY |
| February 17, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Belmont | W 77–71 | 20–5 (13–1) | Curb Event Center (1,191) Nashville, TN |
| February 22, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Missouri State | W 76–65 | 21–5 (14–1) | Knapp Center (2,448) Des Moines, IA |
| February 25, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | W 79–77 | 22–5 (15–1) | Knapp Center (3,646) Des Moines, IA |
| February 29, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UIC | W 84–63 | 23–5 (16–1) | Knapp Center (2,288) Des Moines, IA |
| March 2, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Valparaiso | W 82–62 | 24–5 (17–1) | Knapp Center (2,303) Des Moines, IA |
| March 7, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 86–53 | 25–5 (18–1) | Meeks Family Fieldhouse (167) Evansville, IN |
| March 9, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | W 96–64 | 26–5 (19–1) | Hulman Center (1,261) Terre Haute, IN |
| MVC women's tournament ||||||
| March 15, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (9) Indiana State Quarterfinals | W 79–57 | 27–5 | Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,515) Moline, IL |
| March 16, 2024 1:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (4) Northern Iowa Semifinals | W 92–83 | 28–5 | Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,747) Moline, IL |
| March 17, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (3) Missouri State Finals | W 76–75 | 29–5 | Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,305) Moline, IL |
| NCAA women's tournament ||||||
| March 22, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPNews | (12 A2) | vs. (5 A2) No. 17 Colorado First round | L 72–86 | 29–6 | Bramlage Coliseum (9,642) Manhattan, KS |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. A2=Albany 2. All times are in Central. ||||||
Sources: