Women’s Basketball Preview: Eastern Illinois & Creighton

The Basics
A brand new period of Drake ladies’s basketball is right here because the Bulldogs look to get again to postseason glory within the 2025-26 marketing campaign. Drake begins its march by a difficult non-conference slate subsequent week with a visit to Eastern Illinois (Nov. 3) and a go to from former MVC rival Creighton the next weekend (Nov. 9)
 
Bulldog Bites
Drake is coming off a 21-10 season, together with a 15-5 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play, in Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman‘s fourth 12 months on the helm. Last 12 months, Pohlman turned the one coach in program historical past to steer the Dogs to not less than 20 wins of their first 4 years on the helm. The Bulldogs additionally certified for his or her first-ever look within the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament which incorporates a subject of 32 groups that didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
 
Drake was one in all 5 Valley groups inside the highest 100 of the 2024-25 NET rankings. The Dogs checked in at 71 on the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. Pohlman’s squad was chosen fourth within the 2025-26 MVC Preseason Poll. The Bulldogs earned 4 first-place votes and had been listed behind league favourite Belmont, defending convention champion Murray State, and rival Illinois State.
 
The Bulldogs will lean on their returners together with sharpshooter Abbie Aalsma, veteran guard Ava Hawthorne, and skilled forwards Taedyn Gray and Shannon Fornshell, amongst others. Aalsma was some of the dynamic shooters from deep vary final season. She ranked within the high 5 of MVC hoops in 3-point proportion with a mark of .444.
 
The Bulldogs will even function a handful of latest faces as Drake added a foursome of freshmen to this 12 months’s roster. The 2025 freshman class consists of Iowa natives Quinn Vice, a ahead from the Quad Cities, and Mya Crawford, a former standout at space energy Ankeny Centennial. Legacy Bulldog Mylea Monahan, youthful sister of for Drake star Maddie (Monahan) Peterson, and Kansas native Anna Becker spherical out the rookie crop. Guard Lexi Carlsen, a switch from Northern Illinois, is the daughter of latest assistant coach Lisa Carlsen, who beforehand served as the pinnacle coach at NIU.
 
The Bulldog roster isn’t the one a part of the group with new faces because the teaching employees made a pair of additives. Lisa Carlsen joined the employees as an assistant after a prolonged head teaching profession on the Division I and Division II ranges. The Bulldogs additionally added Kristin Rotert, a former NAIA head coach and South Dakota State assistant, to the identical function as Carlsen.

Bulldog Leaders

Abbie Aalsma | 9.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.0 apg

Ava Hawthorne | 6.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.8 apg

Shannon Fornshell | 4.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.9 apg

Scouting Eastern Illinois

The Panthers of Eastern Illinois enter the season trying to construct upon a profitable 2024-25 effort. EIU went 18-12 general and 15-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play final season. Eastern Illinois was chosen to complete fifth within the OVC Preseason Poll.

 

Individually, Lalani Ellis and Meioshe Mason had been named gamers to observe within the OVC whereas 6-foot, 10-inch Texas switch Abbie Boutilier appears to be like to bolster the Panthers’ inside.

 

Panther Leaders

Lalani Ellis | 7.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.6 apg

Meioshe Mason | 1.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg, .667 FG%

Sydney-James Desroches | 6.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.6 spg

 

Scouting Creighton

Creighton was chosen fifth within the Big East Conference preseason ballot, marking its lowest preseason league rating in because the 2020-21 season. The Bluejays completed 26-7 general with a 16-2 tally in Big East motion final 12 months.

 

Seniors Kennedy Townsend and Kiani Lockett will look to cleared the path for Creighton this season. Lockett averaged 6.1 factors per recreation a 12 months in the past with 30 begins beneath belt whereas Townsend was a key piece off the Bluejay bench with a mean of 5.8 ppg. Creighton additionally added three high 100 freshmen prospects together with Neleigh Gessert and Norah Gessert, and Dowling Catholic graduate Ava Zediker. The Bluejays additionally added a well-known face in former UNI Panther standout Grace Boffeli by way of the switch portal.

  

Bluejay Leaders

Kiani Lockett | 6.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.3 apg

Kennedy Townsend | 5.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.9 apg

Allison Heathcock | 1.9 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.2 bpg

 

Up Next

Regional rivalries proceed for the Bulldogs as Drake will head to Iowa City for a date with the No. 21 Hawkeyes (Nov. 13) earlier than welcoming No. 14 Iowa State to the Knapp Center (Nov. 20).