Women's Basketball 1/8/2016 2:49:00 PM Scott Puryear, Associate AD For Marketing & Communications

Lady Panthers Look To Bounce Back At Parkside In Saturday National TV Appearance

Women's Basketball 1/8/2016 2:49:00 PM Scott Puryear, Associate AD For Marketing & Communications

Lady Panthers Look To Bounce Back At Parkside In Saturday National TV Appearance

Heather Harman

Saturday's Lady Panthers GLVC matchup at Wisconsin-Parkside at a glance ...

*THE MATCHUP: Nationally sixth-ranked Drury (10-2, 3-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference) plays at Wisconsin-Parkside (8-4, 2-2) in a 5 p.m. tipoff from DeSimone Gymnasium in Kenosha, Wis.

*RADIO/TV/INTERNET: The game can be heard on JOCK 98.7 FM (online at www.radiospringfield.com). A free live webcast can be viewed at ncaa.com as well as parksiderangers.com/watch. The game is being televised by the American Sports Network (ASN), with Darren Goldwater and Nate Ross providing the commentary. It can be seen live in the Springfield TV market on KOZL (DirecTV, Dish Network & U-Verse channel 27; channel 2 on Mediacom cable or 702 for HD).

*ABOUT THE LADY PANTHERS: The Lady Panthers will look to bounce back from Thursday's 54-41 loss at No. 9 Lewis in Romeoville, Ill. Drury got off to a very slow shooting start (6-for-28) in the opening half, including 0-for-11 on 3-pointers, and trailed 30-16 at the half as a result. The Lady Panthers clawed back into it and got within six points on a pair of occasions before the Flyers pulled away down the stretch. Annie Armstrong had 17 points as the only Lady Panther to reach double-figures. Armstrong averages 15.1 points and junior guard Alice Heinzler adds 13.4 points per game, while junior forward/center Hannah Dressler grabs 5.7 rebounds per game to pace Drury.

*SCOUTING PARKSIDE: Coach Jacob Yorg's Rangers present not only a size problem, but matchup (and preparation) issues abound for the Lady Panthers with their depth. Twelve different Parkside players have earned starting assignments this season, and 13 players average 8.8 minutes or more per game of playing time. Senior forward Kristin Conniff leads three Rangers averaging in double-figures with 13.5 points per game, while senior Tara Knapstein adds 11.4 points and 5.3 rebounds and senior Stephanie Furr contributes 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for a Parkside team averaging 39.2 rebounds and allowing 33.6 per contest. Drury was outrebounded 45-39 by Lewis, surrendering 23 boards to senior standout Mariyah Brawner-Henley.

*THE SERIES: Drury leads the all-time series with Parkside 9-4, including a 69-67 victory in Kenosha last season on Sanayika Shields' 18-foot jumper at the buzzer after the Rangers had put together a 15-0 run in the final five minutes to get back into it.

*GOOD GOLLY, MISS MOLLY: The 10-2 start has pushed DU coach Molly Miller's record to 36-6 in two seasons as the former Lady Panthers standout herself has made a smooth transition to the head coaching ranks. That includes a 17-1 record in games at the O'Reilly Family Event Center, where their only loss under Miller's watch was a 78-73 decision to Pittsburg State on the second day of the 2014 Thanksgiving Classic. That remains the only game in Miller's coaching career decided by five points or less that her team has lost; she's 6-1 in those situations. Drury has won 24 of its last 27 games under Miller, whose 36-6 record after 42 games is the best in Lady Panthers' coaching history.

*SHOOT IT, ANNIE: Armstrong endured a 1-for-7 outing at Lewis on Thursday, but entered the week leading the nation in 3-point FG percentage at .547 (29 of 53). She also entered the week raned second nationally in FT percentage, and pushed that average over 97 percent with her 6-for-6 effort on Thursday to move to 35 of 36 at the line on the season. Over her three-year career as a Lady Panther, Drury is 14-0 when Armstrong makes three or more 3-pointers in a game. She set a new school record with eight made treys in a win over Trevecca Nazarene on November 28 in the Thanksgiving Classic at The O', only to see it tied about a half-hour later in the same game by teammate Heinzler.

*ARMSTRONG CLIMBING CHARTS: Armstrong now has 873 points in her three seasons with the Lady Panthers after the Springfield Kickapoo HS product transferred back home from Eckerd (Fla.) College, and has moved into 15th place on the all-time DU scoring charts. Armstrong needs 14 points to surpass Sanayika Shields (886 points from 2011-15) for 14th place. Armstrong scored 241 points in her lone season at Eckerd, meaning she's scored 1,114 points in her four intercollegiate seasons of basketball. After making 34 of 39 free throws (.872 percent) at Eckerd as a freshman, Armstrong has made 172 of 182 free-throw tries (.945 percent) in her three seasons at DU, including a nation-best .956 last season (87 of 91) and 35 of 36 this season. For her college career combined, Armstrong is 206 of 221 at the stripe (93 percent).

*QUICKIES: Drury held Lewis to 41-percent shooting (28 of 68) in last year's victory, which handed the Flyers their first loss of the season after 23 wins to open it. ... Brawner-Henley went for 17 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocked shots in the loss, which snapped a 34-game home winning streak for Lewis. ... The Lady Flyers are 6-0 att home since that loss, making DU the only team to beat them at Neil Carey Arena in their last 41 games there. ... Heinzler and Sanayika Shields led DU with 18 points and Paige Wilson scored a career-high 17 points in 36 minutes for the Lady Panthers, while Armstrong was held to three points on 1-of-5 shooting. ... The Lady Panthers have outrebounded their opponent in just 2 of 12 games, but have forced their opponent into more turnovers in 9 of 12 games and had as many or more steals than their foe in 11 of 12 contests. ... Drury has been whistled for 20 or more fouls in five of its last six games, including 26 fouls in each of its past three games. ...

*ON DECK FOR THE LADY PANTHERS: The Lady Panthers will return to the O'Reilly Family Event Center next week for home GLVC doubleheaders against Indianapolis (Thursday, January 14) and Saint Joseph's (Saturday, January 16). The latter is the annual "Educator Appreciation Day", with all area school administrators and their families admitted for free with ID. For tickets, call (417) 873-6389. Kids 12-and-under are always free at all DU regular-season contests.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#44 Sanayika Shields: C; 6' 1"; Senior; Center

#25 Annie Armstrong: G; 5' 8"; Senior; Guard

#14 Alice Heinzler: G; 5' 7"; Junior; Guard

#20 Paige Wilson: G; 5' 8"; Junior; Guard

Players Mentioned

#44 Sanayika Shields
: 6' 1"; Senior; Center
: C

#25 Annie Armstrong
: 5' 8"; Senior; Guard
: G

#14 Alice Heinzler
: 5' 7"; Junior; Guard
: G

#20 Paige Wilson
: 5' 8"; Junior; Guard
: G