# Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament

The Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament, currently promoted as Hoops in the Heartland, is an annual basketball tournament which features the women's basketball teams of each of the Missouri Valley Conference member universities. The tournament determines which MVC team receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.
First held at the end of the 1982–83 basketball season, the tournament was originally conducted by the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference, a women's sports conference formed in that school year by six MVC members plus four members of what is now known as the Summit League. In 1985, the Gateway took on football as its only men's sport. Following the 1991–92 school year, the MVC absorbed the women's side of the Gateway (which by that time had eight MVC members) and spun off its football side into what is now the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The MVC maintains all historic records of Gateway women's sports.

## Tournament champions by year

| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-up | Tournament MVP | Location |
| 1983 | Illinois State | 62–54 | Southern Illinois | None Selected | Horton Field House • Normal, Illinois |
| 1984 | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held |
| 1985 | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held |
| 1986 | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held |
| 1987 | Southern Illinois | 53–51 | Eastern Illinois | None Selected | SIU Arena • Carbondale, Illinois |
| 1988 | Eastern Illinois | 80–79 | Illinois State | None Selected | Horton Field House • Normal, Illinois |
| 1989 | Illinois State | 70–53 | Southern Illinois | None Selected | Horton Field House • Normal, Illinois |
| 1990 | Southern Illinois | 71–54 | Illinois State | Amy Rakers, Southern Illinois | SIU Arena • Carbondale, Illinois |
| 1991 | Southwest Missouri State | 74–61 | Southern Illinois | None Selected | Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri |
| 1992 | Southwest Missouri State | 86–69 | Southern Illinois | None Selected | Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri |
| 1993 | Southwest Missouri State | 54–53 | Southern Illinois | None Selected | Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri |
| 1994 | Southwest Missouri State | 88–71 | Creighton | Tina Robbins, Southwest Missouri State | Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri |
| 1995 | Drake | 71–68 (OT) | Southwest Missouri State | Tricia Wakely, Drake | Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri |
| 1996 | Southwest Missouri State | 59–56 | Illinois State | LaTanya Davis, Southwest Missouri State | Redbird Arena • Normal, Illinois |
| 1997 | Drake | 78–59 | Wichita State | Keisha Cox, Drake | Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri |
| 1998 | Drake | 73–59 | Southwest Missouri State | Tammi Blackstone, Drake | Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri |
| 1999 | Evansville | 75–72 (OT) | Creighton | Shyla McKibbon, Evansville | Redbird Arena • Normal, Illinois |
| 2000 | Drake | 70–67 | Southwest Missouri State | Jackie Stiles, Southwest Missouri State | Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri |
| 2001 | Southwest Missouri State | 84–69 | Drake | Jackie Stiles, Southwest Missouri State | Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri |
| 2002 | Creighton | 77–74 | Drake | Christy Neneman, Creighton | Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri |
| 2003 | Southwest Missouri State | 64–55 | Indiana State | Kari Koch, Southwest Missouri State | Knapp Center • Des Moines, Iowa |
| 2004 | Southwest Missouri State | 74–67 | Drake | Jenni Lingor, Missouri State | Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri |
| 2005 | Illinois State | 72–70 | Indiana State | Jaci McCormack, Illinois State | Redbird Arena • Normal, Illinois |
| 2006 | Missouri State | 64–55 | Indiana State | Kari Koch, Missouri State | Hammons Student Center • Springfield, Missouri |
| 2007 | Drake | 65–64 (OT) | Creighton | Lindsay Whorton, Drake | Knapp Center • Des Moines, Iowa |
| 2008 | Illinois State | 70–62 | Drake | Kristi Cirone, Illinois State | Family Arena • St. Charles, Missouri |
| 2009 | Evansville | 47–45 | Creighton | Ashley Austin, Evansville | Family Arena • St. Charles, Missouri |
| 2010 | Northern Iowa | 54–53 | Creighton | Lizzie Boeck, Northern Iowa | Family Arena • St. Charles, Missouri |
| 2011 | Northern Iowa | 69–41 | Missouri State | Jacqui Kalin, Northern Iowa | Family Arena • St. Charles, Missouri |
| 2012 | Creighton | 53–38 | Drake | Carli Tritz, Creighton | Family Arena • St. Charles, Missouri |
| 2013 | Wichita State | 69–65 | Illinois State | Alex Harden, Wichita State | Family Arena • St. Charles, Missouri |
| 2014 | Wichita State | 73-49 | Drake | Alex Harden, Wichita State | Family Arena • St. Charles, Missouri |
| 2015 | Wichita State | 85–71 | Missouri State | Alex Harden, Wichita State | Family Arena • St. Charles, Missouri |
| 2016 | Missouri State | 73–49 | Northern Iowa | Tyonna Snow, Missouri State | iWireless Center • Moline, Illinois |
| 2017 | Drake | 74–69 (OT) | Northern Iowa | Caitlin Ingle, Drake | iWireless Center • Moline, Illinois |
| 2018 | Drake | 75–63 | Northern Iowa | Maddy Dean, Drake | iWireless Center • Moline, Illinois |
| 2019 | Missouri State | 94–79 | Drake | Alexa Willard, Missouri State | iWireless Center • Moline, Illinois |
| 2020 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 |
| 2021 | Bradley | 78-70 | Drake | Gabi Haack, Bradley | TaxSlayer Center • Moline, Illinois |
| 2022 | Illinois State | 50–48 | Northern Iowa | JuJu Redmond, Illinois State | TaxSlayer Center • Moline, Illinois |
| 2023 | Drake | 89–71 | Belmont | Maggie Bair, Drake | Vibrant Arena at The MARK • Moline, Illinois |
| 2024 | Drake | 76–75 | Missouri State | Katie Dinnebier, Drake | Vibrant Arena at The MARK • Moline, Illinois |
| 2025 | Murray State | 83-62 | Belmont | Katelyn Young, Murray State | Ford Center • Evansville, Indiana |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Became Missouri State effective with the 2005–06 school year.

## Tournament championships by school

| School | Championships | Last Won |
| Missouri State | 11 | 2019 |
| Drake | 9 | 2024 |
| Illinois State | 5 | 2022 |
| Wichita State | 3 | 2015 |
| Creighton | 2 | 2012 |
| Evansville | 2 | 2009 |
| Northern Iowa | 2 | 2011 |
| Southern Illinois | 2 | 1990 |
| Bradley | 1 | 2021 |
| Eastern Illinois | 1 | 1988 |
| Murray State | 1 | 2025 |
* Schools highlighted in pink are former members of the MVC
* Belmont, Indiana State, UIC, and Valparaiso have never won the MVC Tournament.