Drury's Lady Panthers, ranked No. 1 in the nation by D2SIDA and No. 3 in the USA TODAY poll, will try to secure that lofty status for another week when they visit Washburn for a 7 p.m. non-conference tipoff Saturday at Lee Arena in Topeka, Kan.

Coach Molly Miller's Lady Panthers are off to a 3-0 start after downing Southwest Baptist 80-66 on Tuesday in the annual "Highway 13 Cat Fight" rivalry game at the O'Reilly Family Event Center, where Drury has now won 12 straight and 18 of its last 19 games heading into a road trip that has not been kind to the Lady Panthers over the years.

Drury is 0-6 against the Ichabods in Topeka, and they matchups typically have not been all that close - decided by 17 (67-50) in Drury's last trip there two seasons ago, preceded by losses by 12, 22, 23, 16 and 3 (in OT) in the previous six games at Lee Arena. 

Washburn leads the overall series with Drury 9-4, including a Lady Panthers' 91-79 victory over the Ichabods last season at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.

Ron McHenry's squad this season is off to a 3-0 start after defeating Benedictine 62-32 at home on Tuesday, fueled by a 48-4 scoring advantage on points in the paint. Honor Duvall, a 6-1 senior, had 12 points and 5-8 senior Taylor Ignoto added 11 points for Washburn, which received 10 rebounds from 5-10 senior Dana Channel in compiling a 45-34 advantage over the Ravens on the boards.

Duvall is averaging 14.7 points and Ignito 12.7 points to lead the Ichabods, while Channel is pulling down 9.0 rebounds per game for a team that's outrebounding its foes by an average of 54.7 to 28.7.

McHenry (361-82) is the winningest active coach in NCAA-II. Washburn's 16-11 final record last season was his first with double-digit losses since his inaugural season with the Ichabods (2000-01).

Junior guard Annie Armstrong is averaging 20.0 points to pace four Lady Panthers scoring in double-figures. Junior guard Addy Roller and sophomore guard Paige Wilson add 11.0 points each, while senior post Sanayika Shields is averaging 10.7 points and 11.7 rebounds, with double-doubles posted in all three games.

Drury is shooting 85 percent (81 of 95) from the free-throw line as a team, including a 21-for-21 start by Armstrong and a 17-of-20 opening by Roller.

A victory Saturday on the road at a perennial national powerhouse, combined with last weekend's convincing win over No. 8 Colorado Mesa, would possibly propel the Lady Panthers to No. 1 in the USA TODAY/WBCA Top 25 for the first time since the 2005-06 season, with preseason No. 1 West Texas A&M and No. 2 Cal Poly-Pomona having already suffered losses.

Saturday's game can be heard on JOCK 98.7 FM, and is also streamed live at www.jock987.com. There is no live video webcast for the contest.