Drury Lady Panthers Game Preview
#18 Drury Lady Panthers (8-2) vs. Missouri Southern St. Lions (7-4)
Sun., Dec. 31, 2023 – 1:30 pm – O'Reilly Family Event Center   
 
Tickets
$12 (kids 12 and under FREE)
Order Online
417-873-7000
 
Live Coverage
Radio: KICK 92.3 FM / 1340 AM
Audio: www.923kick.com, TuneIn app
Live Video: GLVCSN.com/drury
Live Stats: drurypanthers.com
 
Promotion
New Year's Eve
 
Lady Panthers face Missouri Southern in match-up rescheduled on New Year's Eve 
Drury's game against Missouri Southern had to wait 12 days, but on New Year's Eve, the two teams will finally take the court against one another at 1:30 pm in the O'Reilly Family Event Center. The game was originally scheduled for Dec. 19, but was postponed when the Lady Panthers had illnesses and injuries that left them with only three healthy players.
 
Drury is 8-2 and, last week, was ranked 18th in the latest NCAA-II coaches' poll. They have been idle since their Dec. 9 loss to Southwest Baptist, 66-65.
 
Missouri Southern comes to Springfield having won four straight and the streak includes a 78-66 win at third-ranked Central Missouri last Thursday. The Lions haven't played since Dec. 16 when they defeated Lincoln in Jefferson City, 76-57, raising their record to 7-4.
 
The Lady Panthers are led by Beth Matas Martin, averaging 15.6 points and the graduate transfer from Spain, is shooting .455 from three-point range having made 30 of 66. Sophomore Reese Schaaf is averaging 14.6 points and 6.6 rebounds.
 
Sunday's game is Drury's last non-conference regular season game of the year. They return to league play on Wednesday when they travel to Illinois Springfield for a 5:30 pm game. The Lady Panthers are back at home on Jan. 6 when they host Rockhurst for a 1 pm contest in the O'.
 
About the Lions
Drury will be the fourth nationally-ranked team Missouri Southern will play this year as the Lions have faced 12th ranked Southern Nazarene (73-52 loss on Nov. 22 in Bethany, Okla.), 23rd ranked Missouri Western (73-55 loss on Dec. 2 at MWSU), and 3rd ranked Central Missouri (a 78-66 win in Warrensburg on Dec. 14).
 
Missouri Southern features a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging double-figures. Kaitlin Hunnictt averages 12.5 points, while Kryslyn Jones puts in 12.3 points.
 
Last Meeting
Drury 75 Missouri Southern 54 (Nov. 8, 2013, at DU)
-- This game was the 2013-14 season opener for both teams
-- Sanayika Shields led the Lady Panthers with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 blocked shots and went 6 for 6 from the field
-- Shelby White added 12 points for Drury
-- Nicole Hartzog and Shontay Clay each had 14 points for Missouri Southern
 -- Drury held Missouri Southern to 33 percent shooting as the Lions went 19 for 58 from the floor
 
All-Time series vs Missouri Southern
Drury and Missouri Southern are playing one another for the first time in 10 years, as their last encounter was Nov. 8, 2013 in a 75-54 Lady Panthers win in the O'Reilly Family Event Center. Missouri Southern, though, won all three other meetings and is 3-1 in the all-time series.
 
Lady Panthers last game
Southwest Baptist 66 Drury 65 (Dec. 9, 2023 at DU)
-- Southwest Baptist owned a 39-26 rebounding advantage
-- The Bearcats led 35-29 at halftime
-- Beth Matas Martin had 21 points for Drury to lead all scorers
-- Reese Schaaf added 20 points for the Lady Panthers
-- Claudia Vanzant came off the bench to lead SBU with 15 points
 
Drury ranked 18th in NCAA-II
The Drury Lady Panthers are ranked 18th in this week's NCAA-II coaches' poll. There is a new number one ranked team in Division II women's basketball for the first time this season. Grand Valley State (8-1), whose only loss this season came against Ohio State, received 16 first place votes and moved up to number one. Ashland (8-1) lost at home on Dec. 16 against sixth ranked Ferris State, 66-62, slipped to number two in the poll while receiving three first place votes. Gannon (10-1) received two first place votes and is ranked third.
 
Milestone Watch - Martin closing in on 1,000 career points
Drury guard Beth Matas Martin is closing in on 1,000 career points at the NCAA level. The graduate student from Spain enters Tuesday's game with 942 points. Martin scored 786 points in two seasons at Quincy, and has 156 points this year with the Lady Panthers.
 
QUICK FACTS
Records
Drury: 8-2, #18 NCAA-II
MSSU: 7-4
 
Head Coaches
Drury: Kaci Bailey (1^st yr., 8-2 / 3^rd yr., 30-38)  
MSSU: Ronnie Ressel (8^th year, 116-100)
 
Streak
Drury: Lost 1
MSSU: Won 4
 
Last Five Games
Drury: 3-2
MSSU: 4-1
 
All-Time Series
Missouri Southern 3-1
 
Last Meeting
Drury 75 Missouri Southern 54 (Nov. 8, 2013 at DU)
 
Next Game
Drury at Illinois Springfield, Wed., Jan. 3, 2024
5:30 pm – Springfield, Ill.
 
 
#allweDUiswin