Drury Panthers Game Preview
Drury Panthers (1-1) at Missouri Southern St. Lions (4-3)
Wed., Nov. 20, 2024 – 6 pm
Leggett & Platt Center – Joplin, Mo.      
 
Live Coverage
Radio- KICK 92.3 FM / 1340 AM
Live Audio- 923kick.com, TuneIn app
Live Video: The MIAA Network
Live Stats: mssulions.com
 
Lady Panthers at Missouri Southern St. in first road test of '24-25
The Drury Lady Panthers play their first road game of the season on Wednesday as they travel to Joplin to face Missouri Southern State.
 
Drury is 1-1 and coming off an 82-71 win over Central Oklahoma on Nov. 13. Missouri Southern is off to a 4-3 start and picked up a win on Sunday, 57-54, over Texas A&M International in Fort Smith, Ark. The Lions have won four straight games with wins over Henderson State, Missouri S&T, Southwest Baptist and Texas A&M International.
 
Lady Panthers guard Rhi Gibbons leads the team in scoring in Drury's first two games. The sophomore from Nixa is averaging 16.5 points and is coming off a career-high 21 point game against Central Oklahoma last week. Gibbons had 12 points against 15th ranked Ferris State on Nov. 10 in Drury's season opener.
 
Missouri Southern leads the all-time series against the Lady Panthers 4-1. The Lions won at Drury last year 80-57 on New Year's Eve. Drury's lone win against Missouri Southern came on Nov. 8, 2013, in a 75-54 victory in Springfield.
 
Following Wednesday's game, the Lady Panthers return home to host the Oasis Hotel & Convention Center Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 26-27. Drury takes on Ark.-Fort Smith next Tuesday, then Newman the following day, with both games starting at 5:30 pm in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
About the Lions
Missouri Southern head coach Ronnie Ressel is in his ninth year leading the program and has guided the Lions to three straight 20-win seasons and two NCAA-II Tournaments since 2022.
 
Center Ryan Franklin was the MIAA Freshman of the Year last season and is averaging 11.7 points and 8.8 rebounds this year.
 
Drury will be the third GLVC team Missouri Southern has played this season. The Lions defeated Missouri S&T, 76-65, on Nov. 12, and they picked up a win over Southwest Baptist, 73-62, on Nov. 16.
 
 
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