#2 Drury Lady Panthers (30-3) at #1 Ashland Eagles (33-0)
NCAA-II Midwest Regional Championship – March 13, 2017
Kates Gym – Ashland, Ohio
 
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Lady Panthers face #1 ranked Ashland in regional final
For the second straight season, Drury is in the NCAA-II Midwest Regional championship game and the national round of 16, but for the Lady Panthers to advance to the Elite Eight for the fourth time in program history, they must get past the number one ranked team in the nation and undefeated Ashland.
 
The Ashland Eagles have been the nation's number one ranked team in Division II throughout the season and they bring a 33-0 record into Monday night's game. The Eagles were champions of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and earned the right to host three rounds of the national tournament as the top seed in the Midwest region. The Eagles advanced to the regional final with an opening round win over Malone, 70-42, and a 77-62 victory against Grand Valley State in the semifinal on Saturday.
 
The Drury Lady Panthers are ranked fifth in the country and are 30-3 so far this season. Drury advanced to the regional championship game with a 75-57 win over Bellarmine in the first round and on Saturday they defeated third seeded Saginaw Valley State 77-62. The Lady Panthers were champions of Great Lakes Valley Conference after going 17-1 in the league and followed that with a GLVC tournament win. Drury has won 10 straight entering Monday's game and is seeded second in the region.
 
Monday's game is a rematch of last year's regional semifinal held 366 days ago on March 12, 2016. The Lady Panthers, seeded fourth last year, knocked off the top seed and host Ashland 86-60. The loss snapped Ashland's 30-game home winning streak and was the largest margin of defeat on their own floor since Jan. 6, 2000 when Ferris State beat them by 30. Paige Wilson came off the bench to lead Drury with 17 points in the game while Hannah Dressler had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Drury shot 52 percent from the field and were 11 for 25 from three-point range in the game. Last year's meeting has been the only meeting ever between the two programs.
 
The winner of Monday's game will advance to the NCAA-II Elite Eight held in Columbus, Ohio from March 21-24. The winners of the eight regions all advance and will be re-seeded for the Elite Eight.
 
NCAA-II Midwest Regional Schedule
1st Round
Friday, March 10
Saginaw Valley St. 70 Lewis 66
DRURY 75 Bellarmine 57
Ashland 72 Malone 40
Grand Valley St. 73 Ursuline 66
 
2nd Round
Saturday, March 11
DRURY 67 Saginaw Valley St. 55
Ashland 77 Grand Valley St. 62
 
Regional Championship
Monday, March 13
DRURY at Ashland, 6 p.m. (central)
 
NCAA-II Midwest Regional Quick Facts
 
Records
Drury: 30-3, ranked #5 in NCAA-II
Ashland: 33-0, ranked #1 NCAA-II
 
NCAA-II Midwest Regional Seeding
Drury: # 2 (qualified with automatic bid- won GLVC tournament)
Ashland: # 1 (qualified with automatic bid- won GLIAC tourney)
 
Head Coaches
Drury: Molly Miller (3^rd year, 82-12)
Ashland: Robyn Fralick (2^nd year, 64-2)
 
Last Game
Drury: won vs Saginaw Valley St. 67-55 (NCAA-II, 2^nd rd.), Sat.
Ashland: won vs Grand Valley St. 77-62 (NCAA-II, 2^nd rd.), Sat.
 
All-Time Series: Drury 1-0
 
Last Meeting
Drury 86 Ashland 60 (Mar. 12, 2016- NCAA-II 2^nd rd. at AU)