# 2021 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament

The 2021 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament, promoted as Hoops in the Heartland, was part of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season and was played in Moline, Illinois, March 11–14, 2021, at the TaxSlayer Center. On March 13, prior to the semifinal game between Missouri State and Bradley, Missouri State withdrew from the tournament. The remaining teams were reseeded, Bradley was rescheduled to play Loyola Chicago, and top-seeded Drake advanced to the finals, awaiting their opponent. Bradley won the tournament, its first title, receiving the Missouri Valley Conference's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA tournament.

## Seeds

2021 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament seeds :
| Seed | School | Conf. | Over. |
| 1 | Missouri State‡# | 16–0 | 20–2 |
| 2 | Drake# | 13–5 | 15–10 |
| 3 | Illinois State# | 12–6 | 15–6 |
| 4 | UNI | 11–7 | 14–11 |
| 5 | Bradley# | 10–8 | 14–11 |
| 6 | Loyola Chicago# | 8–10 | 10–12 |
| 7 | Valparaiso | 7–9 | 11–12 |
| 8 | Southern Illinois | 5–13 | 8–15 |
| 9 | Indiana State | 2–12 | 5–14 |
| 10 | Evansville | 2–16 | 6–17 |
| ‡ – Missouri Valley Conference regular season champions, and tournament No. 1 seed. # - Received a single-bye in the conference tournament. Overall records include all games played in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. ||||

## Schedule

| Session | Game | Time | Matchup | Score | Television |
| First round – Thursday, March 11 ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 4:30 pm | No. 8 Southern Illinois vs. No. 9 Indiana State | 90–89$^{OT}$ | ESPN+ |
| 1 | 2 | 7:30 pm | No. 7 Valparaiso vs. No. 10 Evansville | 65–52 | ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinals – Friday, March 12 ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 11:00 am | No. 1 Missouri State vs. No. 8 Southern Illinois | 70–59 | ESPN+ |
| 2 | 4 | 2:00 pm | No. 4 UNI vs. No. 5 Bradley | 59–62 | ESPN+ |
| 3 | 5 | 5:00 pm | No. 2 Drake vs. No. 7 Valparaiso | 71–60 | ESPN+ |
| 3 | 6 | 8:00 pm | No. 3 Illinois State vs. No. 6 Loyola Chicago | 60–61 | ESPN+ |
| Semifinals – Saturday, March 13 ||||||
| 4 | 7 | 1:00 pm | No. 1 Missouri State vs. No. 2 Drake | Canceled | ESPN+ |
| 4 | 8 | 6:00 pm | No. 5 Bradley vs. No. 6 Loyola Chicago | 70–56 | ESPN+ |
| Championship – Sunday, March 14 ||||||
| 5 | 9 | 4:00 pm | No. 2 Drake vs. No. 5 Bradley | 70–78 | ESPN+ |
| Game times in CT. Rankings denote tournament seed. ||||||

## Tournament bracket

| First round Thursday, March 11 ESPN+ | First round Thursday, March 11 ESPN+ | First round Thursday, March 11 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Friday, March 12 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Friday, March 12 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Friday, March 12 ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 13 ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 13 ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 13 ESPN+ | Championship Sunday, March 14 ESPN+ | Championship Sunday, March 14 ESPN+ | Championship Sunday, March 14 ESPN+ |
| | | | 1 | Missouri State | 70 | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Southern Illinois | 59 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Southern Illinois | 90* | 8 | Southern Illinois | 59 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Indiana State | 89 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Indiana State | 89 | | | | 1 | Missouri State | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Drake | NC | | | |
| | | | 4 | UNI | 59 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Bradley | 62 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | Drake | 70 |
| | | | | | | | | | 5 | Bradley | 78 |
| | | | 2 | Drake | 71 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Valparaiso | 60 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Valparaiso | 65 | 7 | Valparaiso | 60 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Evansville | 52 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Evansville | 52 | | | | 5 | Bradley | 70 | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | Loyola Chicago | 56 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Illinois State | 60 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Loyola Chicago | 61 | | | | | | |
* denotes overtime