Coming off their most notable victory of the season - a three-point win at unbeaten No. 1 Lewis on Thursday - the 17th-ranked Drury Lady Panthers will look to come back down to earth and finish their final Great Lakes Valley Conference road trip of the season strong when they visit Wisconsin-Parkside for a 1 p.m. tipoff Saturday in Kenosha, Wis.

The Lady Panthers (19-3, 13-1 in the GLVC) clinched their seventh GLVC West title in 10 years and a first-round bye in the league's post-season tournament with the 75-72 triump at Lewis in Romeoville, Ill., on Thursday night, where Drury let a second-half, 12-point lead slip away, only to rally behind two huge Alice Heinzler 3-pointers to regain the lead and hold off the Flyers (who had won 35 consecutive games at Carey Arena).

But there's still plenty at stake for Drury entering Saturday's game at Parkside (19-4, 12-2). The Rangers, in their second season under former Maryville assistant coach Jacob Yorg, are the league's hottest team with 12 consecutive victories, and are 7-0 at home this season. Drury has won 16 of its last 17 games, including seven straight since an 80-64 loss at William Jewell on January 17.

Both teams are playing for positioning down the road in NCAA-II MIdwest Regional play; Drury's victory at Lewis (23-1, 13-1) no doubt narrowed the large gap between the Flyers and the other contenders for a regional host role, and the Lady Panthers would give a little bit of that gain back with a loss at UWP and a split on the road trip before they return to the O'Reilly Family Event Center for their final three games (Feb. 19 vs. William Jewell, Feb. 21 vs. Rockhurst, Feb. 26 vs. Missouri S&T).

Parkside is also trying to stay on the heels of Lewis, now sitting just a game back of the Flyers now in the GLVC East standings with a showdown in Kenosha between the two looming in the regular season finale (Feb. 26). The unranked Rangers defeated S&T 73-53 on Thursday, though had a couple of close calls at home in their last two game swing there - defeating Indianapolis 75-66 in OT and Saint Joseph's 59-54 on January 29 and 31st. 

Parkside allows just 57.1 points per game (best in the GLVC) and 36-percent FG shooting (second in the GLVC), and clearly favors a slower, lower-scoring tempo which will be a stark contrast for the Lady Panthers, after holding the nation's top-scoring team (84.8 ppg going in) in Lewis to nearly 13 points below its season average. Rangers opponents are shooting just 26 percent from 3-point range, also best defensively in the league and a challenge for a DU squad making 36 percent of its trey attempts and averaging seven makes per game (third in teh league).

Parkside - with 14 of its 18 players on the roster standing 5-10 or taller, including eight that are 6-0 or taller - also leads the GLVC in average rebound margin (plus 7.6) The Rangers have been one of the great bounceback stories of the season under Yorg, after compiling records of 8-18 (including 4-14 in the GLVC) in his inaugural head coaching effort last season.

Gaby Bronson, a 6-foot senior guard and returning Second Team All-GLVC selection, is the lone Rangers player averaging in double-figures with her 12.8 points per game, and she adds a team-high 5.5 rebounds. Kristin Coniff, a 6-0 junior guard, adds 9.9 points on a squad that has 11 players averaging 10 minutes or more of playing time per game.

Annie Armstrong averages 14.3 points to pace three Lady Panthers scoring in double-digits. Sanayika Shields - who shared team scoring honors with Alice Heinzler with 18 pionts each at Lewis - adds 11.6 points and 9.0 rebounds, while Addy Roller contributes 10.4 points. Armstrong, the nation's leading FT shooter at 96 percent (72 of 75), did not make a trip to the line in Thursday's game versus the Flyers in a quiet, three-point night for her, but did lead the Lady Panthers with five assists.

Saturday's game can be heard on JOCK 98.7 FM (streamed live at www.jock987.com), and can be seen in a live webcast at www.parksiderangers.com/watch.

GAME NOTES

*The 18-point, 13-rebound effort by Shields was her seventh double-double of the season, and her effort on the boards moved her into fifth place on the all-time DU rebounding list with 544, surpassing Kara Rutlege (535 from 2002-06). Caitlin Shouse (639 from 2007-10) is fourth on the charts. Shields has 198 rebounds on the season, and needs just three more to surpass Amanda Newton (200 in 2005-06) for the 10th best single-season total in the program's history. Alison Coday had the ninth best total (207) in 2000-01.

*Since a 4-for-11 effort at the free-throw line in a January 11 win at Rockhurst, Shields has gone 16 of 18 at the stripe (89 percent), including 4-for-4 at Lewis on Thursday.

*Heinzler, a College of the Ozarks transfer this season and former Republic High School star, is averaging 13.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in just under 25 minutes per game coming off the bench over her past four contests. Her 4-for-6 effort from 3-point range - including the tying and go-ahead treys in the final two minutes - matched her DU career high for 3-point makes; she also made four 3s in a DU career-best, 19-point night against Quincy on January 31.

*Drury leads the all-time series with Parkside 7-4, including a 77-56 win in Springfield last season. The Lady Panthers lost 65-39 in Kenosha in the opening round of the GLVC tourney in their last visit there, at the end of the 2012-13 season. Drury lost 72-71 at Parkside on January 14, 2010 in its most recent regular season visit to the Rangers, and are 1-3 all-time against Parkside in Kenosha.

*Drury matched its season high for 3-pointers with 10 (in 22 tries) at Lewis. The Lady Panthers also made 10 treys at Indianapolis and at Maryville.

*The five free throws made (in five attempts) at Lewis were the lowest number of makes for a DU squad since a 4-for-9 effort at UMSL in a January 26, 2013 loss, and the fewest attempts for a Lady Panthers team in a game since another 5-for-5 effort in an 81-60 win at Kentucky Wesleyan on January 7, 2010. DU went 4-for-4 at the free-throw line in a 74-38 win at Lincoln University on February 20, 2003.

*Drury captured the outright GLVC West title when second-place Quincy lost 95-79 at home Thursday to drop to 8-6 in the league, five games behind the Lady Panthers. It's a second straight West championship and fifth in the last six years for Drury, which now has won or shared eight division crowns in 10 years as a GLVC member.