Women's Basketball | 12/2/2014 4:48:00 PM
The Drury Lady Panthers fell six spots to No. 13 in the USA TODAY/WBCA Top 25 Coaches Poll this week, and will get to put that ranking to test when they visit Missouri Science and Technology for Thursday's Great Lakes Valley Conference opener in Rolla.
Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Rolla for the Lady Panthers (4-2) vs. the Lady Miners (3-2), who have been idle since a 76-37 loss at Arkansas-Monticello on November 25.
Coach
Molly Miller's Lady Panthers are coming a 1-1 showing last weekend in the Doubletree Hotel/Houlihan's Thanksgiving Classic at the O'Reilly Family Event Center, where they fell 78-73 to 10th-ranked Pittsburg State on Friday before bouncing back to thump Northeastern State 93-52 the following night.
Drury leads the all-time series with S&T by a 17-3 count, including a sweep last season, with the Lady Panthers winning 76-59 in Decemer at The O' before a 91-54 win over the Lady Miners in Rolla in late February.
Annie Armstrong leads the Lady Panthers with 16.5 points per game, though she was the only DU player not to score in Saturday's win over NSU.
Sanayika Shields is averaging 11.3 points and 10.8 rebounds, while
Addy Roller adds 10.3 points per game.
Armstrong ranks 10th nationally in FT percentage at .971, having made 34 of 35 attempts as Drury is shooting .849 at the line as a team (good for No. 2 nationally). The Lady Panthers are third nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.3), and Roller is seventh in NCAA-II in assist-to-turnover ratio at 5.25.
Elsie Greenwood, a 5-9 sophomore, leads a balanced Lady Miners attack with her 9.4 points per game while Leigh-Ann Kesper, a 6-4 junior, adds 8.6 points and 6.8 rebounds for coach Alan Eads' squad.
Thursday's game can be heard on JOCK 98.7 FM (streamed live at www.jock987.com) and seen in a free, live webcast at www.minerathletics.com/watch.
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December 2, 2014
The USA TODAY Sports Division II Top 25 women's basketball poll, with first place votes to the right, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th.
| Rank | Institution - First Place Votes | Previous Rank | Record | Total Points |
| 1 | Emporia State University (Kan.) - 22 | 2 | 5-0 | 773 |
| 2 | Wayne State College (Neb.) - 4Â | 3 | 7-0 | 756 |
| 3 | Lewis University (Ill.) - 6Â | 4 | 5-0 | 725 |
| 4 | Nova Southeastern University (Fla) | 1 | 5-1 | 630 |
| 5 | Northern State University (S.D.) | 12 | 7-0 | 607 |
| 6 | West Texas A&M University | T8 | 4-1 | 524 |
| 7 | Washburn University (Kan.) | 18 | 6-0 | 515 |
| 8 | Pittsburg State University (Kan.) | 10 | 7-1 | 504 |
| 9 | University of Tampa (Fla.) | 6 | 5-1 | 408 |
| 10 | Stonehill College (Mass.) | 23 | 5-0 | 376 |
| 11 | Wayne State University (Mich.) | 13 | 2-0 | 355 |
| 12 | Limestone College (S.C.) | 15 | 5-1 | 315 |
| 13 | Drury University (Mo.) | 7 | 4-2 | 312 |
| 14 | Colorado Mesa University | 16 | 3-1 | 307 |
| 15 | Rollins College (Fla.) | 14 | 5-1 | 304 |
| 16 | Adelphi University (N.Y.) | 25 | 6-0 | 275 |
| 17 | Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania | 20 | 4-1 | 272 |
| 18 | University of Alaska - Anchorage | NR | 5-0 | 247 |
| 19 | Union University (Tenn.) | NR | 4-0 | 231 |
| 20 | Harding University (Ark.) | T8 | 4-2 | 217 |
| 21 | University of Central Missouri | 24 | 5-1 | 149 |
| 22 | California State Polytechnic University - Pomona | 17 | 2-2 | 137 |
| 23 | Seattle Pacific University (Wash.) | NR | 5-0 | 135 |
| 24 | West Liberty University (W.Va.) | 21 | 4-1 | 126 |
| 25 | Gannon University (Pa.) | 5 | 3-2 | 110 |
Dropped out:Â Edinboro University (Pa.); Bentley University (Mass.); California University of Pennsylvania (Pa.).
Others receiving votes:Â Edinboro University (Pa.) 106; Bentley University (Mass.) 97; Arkansas Tech University (Ark.) 88; California University of Pennsylvania (Pa.) 82; University of North Georgia 77; Assumption College (Mass.) 64; Grand Valley State University (Mich.) 60; West Chester University of Pennsylvania 56; California State University - San Bernardino 44; Michigan Technological University 38; Midwestern State University (Texas) 33; Western Washington University 32; Missouri Southern State University (Mo.) 29; Florida Institute of Technology (Fla.) 28; University of District of Columbia (D.C.) 28; Indiana University of Pennsylvania 27; Fort Hays State University (Kan.) 25; Saint Cloud State University (Minn.) 22; Simon Fraser University (B.C.) 20; California Baptist University 18; Concordia University (Minn.) 17; Philadelphia University (Pa.) 15; Humboldt State University (Calif.) 14; Virginia State University (Va.) 13; Columbus State University (Ga.) 8; Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Okla.) 8; Texas A&M International University 8; University of New Haven (Conn.) 8; Minnesota State University - Mankato 5; Rockhurst University (Mo.) 5; University of Findlay (Ohio) 4; California State University - East Bay 2; Minot State University (N.D.) 2; Tarleton State University (Texas) 2; University of North Alabama (Ala.) 2; Northern Michigan University 1; University of Wisconsin - Parkside 1.
The USA TODAY Sports committee of coaches is made up of 32 head coaches at Division II institutions. All are members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The 2014-15 committee: Mark Kellogg- Chair (West Texas A&M University), Tom Shirley (Philadelphia University), Julie Plant (Saint Anselm College), Kim Lusk (Saint Thomas Aquinas), Carrie Seymour (Pace University), Stan Swank (Edinboro University), Mary Fleig (Millersville University of Pa.), Jacques Curtis (Shaw University), Lynn Ullom (West Liberty University), Wendy Lee (Mount Olive University), Ann Hancock (Wingate University), Cindy Hilbrich (University of Montevallo), Erika Lang-Montgomery (Flagler College), Jeff Curtis (Maryville University-St. Louis), Shannon Sword (Ursuline College), Lisa Carlsen (Lewis University), Craig Roden (Delta State University), LeAnn Freeland (Nova Southeastern University), Cassandra Moorer (Stillman College), Beth Jillson (Texas Woman's University), Rusty Kennedy (Western New Mexico University), Louis Whorton (University of Arkansas-Fort Smith), Linda Raunig (Regis University), Tim Kirby (Harding University), Sheila Green-Gerding (Minot State University), Annette Wiles (University of Minnesota Duluth), Ronda Hubbard (Missouri Southern State University), Joddie Gleason (Humboldt State University), Renee Jimenez (California State University San Bernardino), LeNay Larson (Academy of Art University), and Kevin Woodin (Montana State Univ., Billings).
