SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— The Lady Panthers looked like they picked up where they left off last year as Drury forced 44 turnovers and grabbed 33 steals in a 95-52 win over Columbia (Mo.) in their exhibition opener on Saturday afternoon at the O'Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield.
The Lady Panthers smothered the Cougars early and grabbed a 27-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and built a 54-23 lead by halftime.
Paige Robinson, last year's GLVC Freshman of the Year, was in a starting role on Saturday and scored 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting with four rebounds, three assists, and three steals in 24 minutes.
Azia Lynch came off the bench to score 20 in 15 minutes. Junior
Kelsey Winfrey, the Lebanon native who transferred from Mizzou, had a team-high six steals to go with 11 points and five rebounds in her Springfield debut for Drury.
"Our effort was really good," said Lady Panthers head coach
Molly Miller. "We picked right up where we left off in terms of our defensive pressure and forcing turnovers. I'm very pleased with the effort, energy, and intensity we showed on the court."
Payton Richards did not play in Saturday's exhibition game while
Hailey Diestelkamp scored eight points and had two rebounds and two steals in just 11 minutes.
Daejah Bernard also played only 11 minutes and chipped in three points, two steals, and an assist.
"We're so close to having one of the deepest teams we've ever had," said Miller. "I think we've added some really good pieces, but those pieces can't be reserved. I'm hoping to get to that next level and have all of our newcomers turn into an X-Factor. I think they can step in and provide some production, but they need to do that with confidence."
No one on Columbia's roster reached double-figures as Allison Stiers led the Cougars with nine points. Columbia, an NAIA-I program, went 29-5 last year and advanced to the national tournament.
It was the first exhibition game of the year for both teams.
The Lady Panthers return to action with their second exhibition game of the preseason next Saturday when they host William Woods at 7:15 pm in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
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