Drury Panthers Game Preview
Drury Panthers (6-2) vs #1 Grand Valley St. Lakers (10-0)
Sun., Dec. 15, 2024 – 4 pm
State Farm Arena – Champaign, Ill.      
 
Live Coverage
Radio- KICK 92.3 FM / 1340 AM
Live Audio- 923kick.com, TuneIn app
Live Video: none
Live Stats: Illinois.statbroadcast.com
 
Drury faces number one ranked Grand Valley St. in Champaign, Ill.
The Drury Lady Panthers face the number one ranked team in NCAA-II on Sunday as they take on Grand Valley State for a 4 pm tipoff at State Farm Arena in Champaign, Ill.
 
Drury is 6-2 but has been idle since a 97-72 win over Truman State on Dec. 7 in Springfield. Grand Valley State is ranked number in the NCAA-II coaches poll and enters Sunday's game 10-0. The Lakers are coming off a 73-58 win at Quincy on Friday.
 
Sunday's game will mark the second year in a row Drury has played in the nation's number one ranked team. The Lady Panthers lost to top-ranked Ashland in the opening round of the NCAA-II Tournament last year. The Lady Panthers have played four number one ranked teams since 2017.
 
Drury was ranked number one themselves in 2019-20, from the preseason poll to the final poll, and was the top-ranked team in Division II from mid-January to early March in 2018-19. The Lady Panthers have gone 6-8 against teams ranked in the top 10 since the 2015-16 season.
 
After Sunday's game, the Lady Panthers are home for their final game before the Holiday break with a Dec. 21 contest against Northeastern State at 3 pm in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
About the Lakers
Three of Grand Valley State's 10 wins this season have come against teams ranked in the top 10. The Lakers defeated number six Montana State-Billings on the road, 69-52, on Nov. 2, they took down eighth-ranked Union 86-60 on Nov. 3, and won at home over number seven Ashland 67-42 on Nov. 21.
 
Grand Valley State entered the week, allowing only 46.3 points per game while scoring 81.9 per contest. The Lakers also force 25 turnovers a game, and they out-rebound their opponents by a margin of 12.9 per game. The GVSU defense also surrenders a .311 field goal percentage and a .212 mark from three-point range.
 
 
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