CANYON, Texas — The Drury Lady Panthers opened their 2021-22 with a win as they defeated Southwestern Oklahoma State 92-79 on the first day of the D2CCA Classic hosted by West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas.
The game was the season opener for both teams.
Paige Robinson, the NCAA-II Player of the Year last season, poured in 30 points in the opener, going 10 for 21 from the field and 6 for 10 from three-point range. The senior from Bethany, Illinois, moved up three spots on Drury's all-time scoring list in the game, passing Jill Curry (2000-04), Kara Rutledge (2002-06), and Katie Pritchard (2008-13) with a total of 1,543 points in her career. Robinson's six three-pointers also moved her to number two at Drury all-time as her 218 career treys moved past Hope Hunt (2000-05) on the all-time list.
The Lady Panthers led 43-40 at halftime but built a lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 24-15 in the period. The Lady Panthers led by as much as 18 early in the fourth, but Southwestern Oklahoma State chipped away at leads to stay in the contest.
"We knew they could put up points really fast, and last year they averaged about 86 points-a-game, so we needed to limit them offensively," said Drury head coach
Amy Eagan. "I thought we wore them out as they weren't hitting some shots in the fourth quarter.
"I thought our kids played really hard. We didn't get as much out of our press as we wanted, but we still forced them into 26 turnovers. I think if we can get in better game shape, our press should be better."
Payton Richards went 6 for 7 from the field and was 5 of 6 from behind the three-point arc to finish with 17 points, while
Azia Lynch added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Kaylee DaMitz added 12 points in her Drury debut after transferring from Pittsburg State.
Makyra Tramble, last season's Player of the Year in the Great American Conference, led the Bulldogs with 22 points.
Drury shot 56 percent from three-point range, going 15 for 27 while shooting 49 percent overall, hitting 34 of their 69 attempts. The Lady Panthers held Southwestern Oklahoma State to 45 percent from the field and just 4 of 19 from the three-point line.
Drury returns to action for the second day of the D2CCA Classic on Saturday when they take on the host school, West Texas A&M, at 1:30 pm at the First United Center in Canyon, Texas.
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