Drury Lady Panthers Game Preview
NCAA-II Midwest Regional Tournament Semifinals
#5 Drury Lady Panthers (32-4) vs. #6 Grand Valley St. Lakers (28-2)
March 12, 2022 -- 4pm (Central) -- Kates Gym -- Ashland, Ohio        
 
Live Coverage
Radio- JOCK 96.9/99.9/1060
Live Audio- 969thejock.com, TuneIn
TV/Video- Stretch Internet
Live Stats- goashlandeagles.com
 
Lady Panthers take on Grand Valley St. in NCAA-II second round
The fifth and sixth ranked teams in NCAA-II collide in the second round of the national tournament on Saturday as the Lady Panthers take on Grand Valley Valley on Saturday at 4 pm (Central) in Ashland, Ohio.
 
Drury is seeded third in the NCAA-II Midwest Regional, ranked fifth in the latest NCAA-II coaches' poll and brings in a 32-4 record. The Lady Panthers advanced through the first round on Friday with a 65-49 win over Missouri-St. Louis.
 
Grand Valley State is 28-2 and ranked sixth in the NCAA-II poll released earlier this week. The Lakers won their opening-round game on Friday, 72-46, over Wayne State to advance to the second round.
 
Drury and Grand Valley State are meeting for the ninth time in program history, with the Lady Panthers leading the all-time series 5-3. Drury won the last encounter, 51-44, on March 18, 2019, in the Midwest Regional championship game at the O'Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield. Their previous meeting was in Ashland, Ohio, when the Lakers downed Drury in overtime, 62-60 in the 2016 regional title game.
 
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the Midwest Regional championship to play the winner of number seed Ashland and fourth-seeded Walsh on Monday at 6 pm (Central) in Ashland, Ohio.
 
Drury's NCAA-II Tournament history
Drury is in the NCAA-II Tournament for the 19th time in its 22-year history. Counting Drury's first-round win on Friday, the Lady Panthers have gone 35-17 in the national tournament with five regional championships, three semifinals appearances, and two national runner-up finishes. Drury is 11-3 all-time in the second round and has advanced to the round-of-16 every tournament since 2016. The Lady Panthers are playing in a regional hosted by Ashland for the fifth time and have gone 7-4 in Kates Gym during the postseason.
 
Drury vs. NCAA-II Tournament field
Drury has played seven games against teams in the NCAA-II tournament field and has gone 6-1 in those contests. The Lady Panthers have two wins against teams that are number one in their region (West Texas A&M and Union). They have also beaten Southwestern Oklahoma St., Minnesota-Duluth, Southern Indiana, and Missouri-St. Louis. Drury's lone loss against the tourney field was also against UMSL on Feb. 4.
 
Drury hits 30+ wins
Not counting last year when the season was shortened by COVID-19, the Lady Panthers have won 30 games or more for five straight seasons (Drury went 24-2 last year) and it marks their seventh 30-win season in program history. Their 32 victories are tied for the third-most ever by a Drury team, matching them with the 32-0 campaign in 2019-20.  
              2004: 36-2
              2019: 35-1
              2020: 32-0
 
Lady Panthers earn sixth straight GLVC title
The Lady Panthers earned an automatic bid to the NCAA-II Tournament as they won their sixth-straight GLVC championship. The title was Drury's ninth in 15 years in the league, and their 11th conference championship in team history with two titles in the Heartland.
 
Alana Findley on single-season charts 
Scoring
1. Hailey Diestelkamp (18-19), 758
--
5. Amanda Newton (03-04), 544
6. Molly Carter (06-07), 524
7. Heather Harman (16-17), 521
8. Hope Hunt (03-04), 516
9. Alana Findley (21-22), 511
10. Amber Dvorak (13-14), 502
 
Rebounds
1. Hailey Diestelkamp (18-19), 316
2. Melanie Oliver (09-10), 311
3. Hailey Diestelkamp (17-18), 280
4. Alana Findley (21-22), 277
5. Hailey Diestelkamp (16-17), 269
 
Robinson passes 2,000 in her career
Drury guard Paige Robinson became the second player in program history to surpass 2,000 points in her career on Friday in DU's win over Missouri-St. Louis. Robinson's 14 points on Friday gave her 2,001 career points. The senior from Bethany, Illinois, joins Hailey Diestelkemp as Drury's only other player to top 2,000. Diestelkamp scored 2,321 in her career from 2016-29.
 
QUICK FACTS
Record
Drury: 32-4
GVSU: 28-2
 
Qualified
Drury: Automatic, Great Lakes Valley Conference champion
GVSU: At-Large
 
NCAA-II Ranking
DU: #5
GVSU: #6
 
Midwest Regional Seed
DU: #3
GVSU: #2
 
Head Coach
Drury: Amy Eagan (2nd year, 56-6/13th year, 243-148)
GVSU: Mike Williams (7^th year, 175-38)
 
Midwest Regional Quarterfinals
Fri., March 11 (all times Central)
#3 LADY PANTHERS 65 #6 Missouri-St. Louis 49
#2 Grand Valley St. 72 #7 Wayne St. 46
#1 Ashland 76 #8 Ferris St. 73
#4 Walsh 75 #5 Southern Indiana 63
 
Midwest Regional Semifinals
Sat., March 12 (all times Central)
LADY PANTHERS vs. Grand Valley State, 4 pm
Ashland vs. Walsh, 6:30 pm
 
Midwest Regional Championship - Mon., Mar. 14, 6 pm 
 
Drury All-Time in NCAA-II Tournament: 35-17
 
Regional Championships
2021, 2019, 2014, 2007, 2004
 
#allweDUiswin