SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— The Drury Lady Panthers, ranked second nationally in NCAA-II, is the number two seed in Midwest Regional and will play seventh-seeded Lewis in the opening round of the national championship tournament on Friday at 1:30 pm (Central) in Ashland, Ohio. The game will be a rematch of the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament championship game played earlier on Sunday and won by the Lady Panthers 71-52. It will be the fourth meeting this season and the third game between the two teams in 13 days. Lewis is 21-10 and finished second in the GLVC regular season.
 
The eight teams in the NCAA-II Midwest Regional tournament feature three teams ranked in the top five nationally and four squads in the top 25. Ashland is ranked number one in the latest NCAA-II coaches' poll, with Drury ranked second nationally. Grand Valley State is ranked fifth in NCAA-II and Michigan Tech is ranked 22^nd.
 
Ashland (31-0) is the top seed in the region and will play eighth-seeded Malone (21-9) in the opening round on Friday. Grand Valley State (29-2) is seeded third and will face number six Kentucky Wesleyan (23-6) and fourth-seeded Michigan Tech (25-6) will play the fifth seed, Trevecca Nazarene (21-9) in the first round.
 
The regional semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, March 11, with the regional championship on Monday, March 13. The regional winner will advance to the NCAA-II quarterfinals on March 20 in St. Joseph, Missouri. This year's national championship game will be held in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Final Four and will be held on April 1 at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.
 
The Lady Panthers will be making their 20^th appearance in the NCAA-II Tournament in their 23-year history. Drury received an automatic bid to this year's tournament after winning the GLVC Championship for the seventh straight season. The Lady Panthers are 36-18 all-time in the national tournament, with five regional championships, three national semifinal appearances, and two national runner-up finishes.
 
Drury will be making their sixth trip to Ashland for an NCAA-II Regional. The Lady Panthers are 7-5 all-time at Kates Gym and have reached the regional final there three times.
  
NCAA-II Midwest Regional Schedule (all times Central)
Quarterfinals
Fri., March 10, 11 am- #3 Grand Valley St. vs. #6 Kentucky Wesleyan
Fri., March 10, 1:30 pm- #2 LADY PANTHERS vs. #7 Lewis
Fri., March 10, 4 pm- #1 Ashland vs. #8 Malone
Fri., March 10, 6:30 pm- #4 Michigan Tech vs. #5 Trevecca Nazarene
 
Semifinals
Sat., March 11, 4 pm- DU/LU vs. GVSU/KWC
Sat., March 11- 6:30 pm- AU/MU vs. MT/TNU
 
Championship
Mon., March 13, 6 pm
 
#allweDUiswin