CCU Tournament Website | Live Audio (JOCK 98.7 FM)

The Molly Miller Era of Drury Lady Panthers basketball will officially start on the road this weekend, when her nationally third-ranked squad opens its season in the Colorado Christian Tournament in Lakewood, Colo.

Miller, the former Molly Carter and a standout guard for DU from 2004-08, will guide the Lady Panthers first against the host school, Colorado Christian, in an 8 p.m. (CST) tipoff on Friday that can be heard, like all games again this season, on JOCK 98.7 FM. Colorado Christian is also offering a live webcast on a pay-per-view basis at the link above.

Drury will then take on nationally eighth-ranked Colorado Mesa at 4 p.m. (CST) on Saturday to close out the two-day event. 

Colorado Christian's Cougars finished 15-13 last season. Kayla Fakelman, a 5-11 senior, averaged 13.0 points in six games in an injury-marred season, while Kate Louthan, a 5-11 junior, added 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. Taylor Torres, a 5-4 junior, added 11.8 points per game and made a team-leading 45 3-pointers. Claire Paxton, a 6-2 sophomore, was chosen this past summer to compete for the Great Britain U20 squad after averaging 5.0 points and 3.8 rebounds as a freshman for CCU last season.

Colorado Mesa, like CCU a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), will open its season by playing Palm Beach Atlantic in the event at 6 p.m. (CST) on Friday before taking on the Lady Panthers. The Mavericks are picked to win the RMAC for a third straight season after going 30-2 overall and 21-1 in league play last season. Mesa had no players selected for the league's preseason all-conference team.

Mesa lost 59-56 in the NCAA-II South Central Region title game to eventual national runner-up West Texas A&M. The Lady Panthers fell 74-66 one round later in the NCAA-II Elite Eight to unbeaten Bentley (74-66), which went on to defeat West Texas A&M in the championship tilt.

Mesa won 31 games and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2012-13. Colorado Mesa is 61-4 in its first two seasons under head coach Taylor Wagner, whose squad opened its exhibition season with a 67-61 win at NCAA Division I Utah Valley before losing at D-I Southern Utah 98-59 the next night. Erin Reichle, a 5-6 sophomore, had 27 and 21 points to lead the Mavericks in the two exhibition games.

Drury played two preseason contests as well, defeating Avila 107-40 and Lyon 78-59 at the O'Reilly Family Event Center. Freshman guard Heather Harman had 18 points in 10 minutes to lead the Lady Panthers in the Avila contest, while the backcourt trio of Annie Armstrong, Addy Roller and Alice Heinzler scored 14 points each to pace DU in the victory over Lyon.

Sanayika Shields is the top returning scorer for DU after averaging 10.6 points and adding 7.4 rebounds for last season's 27-4 finisher. Armstrong added 9.0 points and a team-high 126 assists (to just 56 turnovers), and the third returning starter from that group - Shelby White - contributed 8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and led the team with 57 steals.

Drury is 11-3 all-time in season openers as the Lady Panthers begin their 15th season of existence. 

This will mark for the first-ever meeting for the Lady Panthers versus both Colorado Christian and Colorado Mesa.

Drury will play its home opener next Tuesday when Southwest Baptist visits The O' for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff in the annual Bank of Bolivar "Highway 13 Cat Fight," with the men's matchup to follow in the rivalry doubleheader. For tickets, call (417) 873-6389 or visit www.drurytickets.com.