After being sent home right before last year's tournament, Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball teams are more than ready to compete in the Quad Cities this year. The women's basketall championship, Hoops in the Heartland, runs from Thursday through Sunday at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline.
Amaka Agugua-Hamilton is the Head Coach of the Missouri State Lady Bears.
Known as "Coach Mox," she says it was devastating when the 2020 tournament was cancelled at the last minute because of the pandemic.
Missouri State is undefeated in conference play, but that doesn't mean winning will be easy.
Tickets will not be sold to the public for Hoops in the Heartland. Current COVID-19 restrictions in Illinois limit the number of spectators to 50. Those seats will be given to the teams to distribute, mainly to parents and family members. But all the games will be shown on ESPN+.
The Missouri Valley Conference tournament starts Thursday at 4:30 pm with Southern Illinois versus Indiana State. Then at 7:30 pm, Valparaiso takes on Evansville.
It'll be the first event held at the TaxSlayer Center since the pandemic began a year ago.
