The U-N-I and Drake women are set for Missouri Valley Conference road tests. The Panthers are alone in second in the Valley race at 8-3 heading into tonight’s matchup at Illinois State. Coach Tony DiCecco’s team will finish the trip at league leading Indiana State. DiCecco says Illinois State has made a great jump and the team is playing much better now.

Drake is 7-4 and surged into a third place tie after wins at Wichita State and Missouri State. The Bulldogs have just one game this weekend, a Sunday matchup in Omaha against a Creighton team that has lost seven straight games since losing forward Kristy Woodard to injury.

Drake coach Amy Stephens says Creighton is still a scary team to play as the young players get more and more experience. The Bulldogs started the seven game skid by beating Creighton in Des Moines. Stephens says they’ll need a solid effort to compete.