Drury University Athletics

#42 Amanda Newton (2001-03)
Amanda Newton is the most decorated Lady Panther in the program’s thirteen-year history. Her list of career accomplishments, which started in 2002 and concluded in March of 2006, is most impressive. Newton was a major cog in the Lady Panther teams that made the national title game in 2004; the “Sweet 16” in 2003 and 2006; and, the field of 32 in 2005. During that four year-run, the Lady Panthers had an overall record of 122-12, and Newton played in 133 of those games. The Republic (Mo.) H.S. graduate is listed in virtually every statistical category including being the Lady Panther’s all-time scoring and second all-time leading rebound leader. Her honors range from all-conference (Heartland and Great Lakes Valley) recognition to her being a three-time NCAA-II Kodak All-America pick, a two-time NCAA-II Bulletin All-America pick and a Daktronics Division II All-American. A force on the basketball court, Newton was also a top student as she was the recipient of the 2006 Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award, the GLVC’s top student-athlete award and she was a Second Team CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American selection as a senior and a First Team selection as a junior. She was also selected as the Heartland Conference Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2003-04. Newton graduated from Drury on May 14, 2006 with a double major: Mathematics and Secondary Education. She is married to Curt Plotner, a former member of the Drury baseball coaching staff, and she is now a teacher/coach at her high school alma mater.

#34 Hailey Diestelkamp (2016-20) 
Hailey Diestelkamp was the NCAA-II Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020, and was the sixth player in Division II history to surpass 2,300 career points and 1,100 career rebounds. She set Drury's all-time scoring record with 2,321 points and took down the team's rebounding record as a junior, ending her career with 1,101. Diestelkamp was the Player of the Year in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and the Midwest Region in 2020 and earned Most Valuable Player honors in the GLVC Tournament as a sophomore, junior and senior. She also received the conference's Paragon Award as the league's top honor for career athletic and academic achievement. While she played for Drury, the Lady Panthers went 128-8, 72-2 in the GLVC, and they went undefeated in the league tournament going 12-0 during their four years. Drury reached the NCAA-II Midwest Regional finals in all three of the tournaments they played in, won the regional championship in 2019, was the region's top seed twice, and reached the national semifinals in 2019. Their 2020 campaign ended with a record of 32-0 and a number one national ranking. During her junior and senior seasons, the Lady Panthers went 67-1 overall, 38-0 in the GLVC, and had back-to-back undefeated regular seasons.

#5 Daejah Bernard (2016-20) 
Daejah Bernard was the GLVC Defensive Player of the Year for the three straight seasons as conference coaches awarded her the trophy following her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. She shattered Drury's all-time assist record compiling 607 during her four seasons, breaking the mark by 133. Bernard also finished her career with 402 steals, third-most in program history and within sight of the all-time record held by Kara Rutledge with 423. While she played for Drury, the Lady Panthers went 128-8, 72-2 in the GLVC, and they went undefeated in the league tournament going 12-0 during their four years. Drury reached the NCAA-II Midwest Regional finals in all three of the tournaments they played in, won the regional championship in 2019, was the region's top seed twice, and reached the national semifinals in 2019. Their 2020 campaign ended with a record of 32-0 and a number one national ranking. During her junior and senior seasons, the Lady Panthers went 67-1 overall, 38-0 in the GLVC, and had back-to-back undefeated regular seasons.