SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Drury Lady Panthers are set to tip off the 12th annual Oasis Hotel and Convention Center Drury Thanksgiving Classic on Tuesday afternoon.
The Lady Panthers will welcome three teams to the O'Reilly Family Event Center—Truman State, Missouri Southern, and Arkansas Fort Smith—and will face Missouri Southern and Fort Smith.
Drury has been successful in their annual Thanksgiving Classic, holding a 20-4 all-time record, including an 8-2 mark over the last five years.
Fans may follow the action through the GLVC Sports Network (subscription required), where games will be streamed live throughout the regular season. New for the 2025-26 academic year, viewing access to GLVC regular season and postseason broadcasts will be available via monthly subscription ($30) or annual subscription ($140). Single-event access can also be purchased for $15. All Drury Lady Panthers games will also have free live audio coverage on DU All-Access.
SERIES HISTORY VS MISSOURI SOUTHERN
• In Drury's and Missouri Southern's six all-time meetings, the Lions lead the series 4-2.
• Drury won the most recent meeting last season in Joplin, 88-84.
• The Lady Panthers held a 15-point fourth-quarter lead before pulling out an overtime win.
• In Springfield, Drury is 1-2 against the Lions.
• The only home win came in the 2013-14 season opener, 75-54.
• The most recent Springfield meeting was during
Kaci Bailey's first season (2023-24), an 80-57 MSSU win on New Year's Eve.
• That loss was the second of three straight for Drury, the longest losing streak of Bailey's tenure.
• This will be Missouri Southern's first appearance in the Thanksgiving Classic.
SERIES HISTORY VS ARKANSAS FORT SMITH
• This is the eighth meeting between Drury and Arkansas Fort Smith.
• The Lady Panthers are 7-0 all-time against the Lions.
• Drury won last season's Thanksgiving Classic matchup 71-55.
• In that game, Drury pulled down a program-record 62 rebounds, led by
Sara Mendel's 14.
• Before that, the last meeting came during Drury's 32-0 2019-20 season, a 100-56 win.
• Drury is 4-0 at home against UAFS, including 2-0 in the Thanksgiving Classic.
• This season marks the first time the teams will meet twice in a year; Drury travels to Fort Smith on December 20 to close a five-game road stretch.
STORYLINES
• Drury hosts the 12th annual Oasis Hotel and Convention Center Thanksgiving Classic.
• The Lady Panthers are 20-4 all-time in the event, with three of the four losses coming on day two.
• Truman State is the only team in the field Drury will not face; this is the Bulldogs' seventh straight Classic appearance.
• Drury and Arkansas Fort Smith meet in the Classic for the third time, with Drury winning both previous matchups.
• Missouri Southern is making its first Classic appearance.
• MSSU enters the week 3-2 and has won two straight against Quincy and McKendree.
• Ashlyn Alloway leads MSSU in points (18.8), rebounds (8.4), and blocks (1).
• Missouri Southern brings a strong defense, averaging 10.4 steals and 2.4 blocks per game.
• Arkansas Fort Smith enters the week 0-4.
• The Lions are losing by an average of nine points per game.
• Telisha Brown leads UAFS in scoring (18.0), assists (3.5), and steals (1.5).
• Drury looks to build off its first win of the season against Texas A&M International.
• The Lady Panthers are 1-2 for only the third time in program history (2010-11 started 1-4; 2006-07 started 1-3).
• Despite the slow start, Drury has upside—its next seven opponents enter the week with a combined .387 winning percentage.
• Only two of those seven games will be at home, both this week in the Classic.
• This week's games are the fourth and fifth in an eight-game stretch over 21 days.
• Multiple Lady Panthers are coming off career performances against TAMIU:
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Jazz Gray played a career-high 30 minutes.
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Josie Storey scored a Drury-career-high 18 points with five threes in 31 minutes.
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Rhi Gibbons posted her first career double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds).
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Raegan Halliday had career highs in points (16), rebounds (10), assists (5), field goals (7), and minutes (39), earning her first career double-double.
– After a double-double at Saginaw Valley,
Sara Mendel scored a career-best 20 points on 10 made field goals.
• Drury enters the week with 193 wins in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
•
Kaci Bailey is two wins away from her 50th as Drury's head coach (currently 48-16).
LOOKING AHEAD
Following the Thanksgiving Classic, the Lady Panthers begin a five-game road stretch on December 2 with their GLVC opener at Southwest Baptist.
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