SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Sara Mendel's double-double performance in the first game of the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center Thanksgiving Classic led Drury to a 61-57 win against Missouri Southern on Tuesday evening.
 
The Lady Panthers raced out to a 10-5 lead in the first quarter before the Lions clawed their way back into the game to take their first lead at 14-12 with a minute and a half left in the quarter.
 
Southern ended the period with an 18-17 lead.
 
In the second quarter, both teams traded punches, with the largest lead coming from Missouri Southern at the five-minute mark when the Lions extended their lead to four points, 26-22.
 
Drury entered the break trailing by two points, 30-28. Sara Mendel led the Lady Panthers through the first 20 minutes with ten points, six rebounds, two steals, and three blocks.
 
The Drury offense struggles continued into the third quarter, trailing by as much as seven points during the quarter. MSSU mixed a 7-2 run in the middle of the quarter to take a 43-40 lead into the final quarter.
 
Missouri Southern extended their lead to seven to start the fourth quarter, courtesy of a 6-2 to open.  
 
A Josie Storey three-pointer sparked a 7-2 run for the Lady Panthers to tie the game up at 51.
 
Rhi Gibbons took the first lead for Drury since the 2:14 mark of the second quarter on a pair of free throw makes with 33 seconds left in the game.
 
Drury finished the game with four free throws to grab the 61-57 win over Missouri Southern.
 
GAME NOTES

• The Lady Panthers outshot an opponent for the second straight game, 37.9% to 35.7%.
• Missouri Southern beat Drury in three major categories: points in the paint (36 to 18), second-chance points (22 to 12), and bench points (14 to 10).
• The Lions also outrebound the Lady Panthers 47 to 36.
• Drury only held the lead in the game for a little over seven and a half minutes compared to MSSU's 23 minutes.
• The Lady Panthers were 14-14 on free throws today. It was the first time since March 11, 2023, against Grand Valley that Drury was perfect from the charity stripe as a team.
• Sara Mendel blocked a career-high five shots. It was the most shots blocked by a Lady Panther since January 9, 2014, by Amber Dvorak at Bellarmine.
• Mendel also recorded her second double-double of the season with an 18-point, 13-rebound performance.
• Rhi Gibbons scored 15 points on 4-12 shooting from the field and 6-6 from the free throw line.
• Gibbons put together a 40-minute shift in the victory.
• Audra Pasakarnis added eight points while being strong defensively with two blocks.
• Drury's defense shut down the Lions' top scorer, Ashlyn Alloway, to four points, after entering the game averaging 19.
• The win was the first time this season that Drury has won while trailing at halftime and the first time since January 30, 2025, against Upper Iowa.
• The Lady Panthers improved their all-time record in the Thanksgiving Classic to 21-4.
• After the loss, MSSU only holds a one-game advantage in the all-time series, 4-3.
• The Lady Panthers have now won back-to-back games against the Lions.
• Drury has now reached 194 wins while playing in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
• Kaci Bailey is now 49-16 as the Drury head coach.

 
QUOTABLE
"We really challenged the girls in the locker room at halftime, and I am really proud of how they responded," mentioned Kaci Bailey postgame on DU All-Access. "We knew it was going to be a physical game…I think Rhi and Sara were really strong for us down the stretch."
 
UP NEXT
The Lady Panthers finish the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center Thanksgiving Classic on Wednesday evening against Arkansas Fort Smith at 5:45 pm.
 
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