SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Drury Lady Panthers and Southwest Baptist Bearcats renew the Highway 13 Cat Fight for the 22nd time on December 1 in Bolivar for a 5:30 pm tip.
Coming off an overtime loss to Arkansas Fort Smith, Drury will take their 2-3 record to Southwest Baptist for the Lady Panthers' Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) opener. The Bearcats will enter play with a 2-4 record and a 0-1 record in league play.
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
- The Lady Panthers hold an 18-3 record against Southwest Baptist and are 9-1 while playing in Bolivar against the Bearcats.
- Drury has won three straight against SBU, following a loss in Springfield in the 2023-24 season.
- Kaci Bailey is 3-1 in her Drury tenure against SBU and 2-0 in Bolivar.
- Under Bailey, the Lady Panthers have a 28.2 margin of victory while playing at the Meyer Center at SBU.
- Since the Bearcats joined the GLVC in the 2019-20 season, the Lady Panthers are 5-0 on the road against SBU.
- This will be the second straight season that SBU is the Lady Panthers' league opener.
STORYLINES
- Monday's game against Southwest Baptist will be the Lady Panthers' sixth of eight games in a 21-day span.
- It will also kick off a five-game road stretch for Drury in the month of December.
- Drury enters GLVC play with a 2-3 record.
- The Lady Panthers are 17-3 all-time in GLVC openers and haven't lost a league opener since the 2012-13 season when Missouri S&T got the best of Drury in Springfield, 66-63.
- Kaci Bailey coached Drury teams are 2-0 in conference openers with an average margin of victory of 19.5 points.
- In last season's GLVC opener against SBU, Sara Mendel went for 10 points and 11 rebounds.
- Five Lady Panther newcomers have seen minutes in five games; they will have a chance to see GLVC action for the first time on Monday.
- Sara Mendel has been off to a historic start for the Lady Panthers.
- The junior from Ava is averaging 14.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks, while shooting 64% from the field.
- Mendel has scored double figures in every game this year, highlighted by a career-high 20 points on 10-for-13 shooting against Texas A&M International. Her 10 made field goals marked another career best.
- Mendel and Rhi Gibbons have both scored in double digits in each of the first five games, making them the first Drury duo to start a season with five straight double-figure performances in program history.
- Mendel and Gibbons are the first Lady Panthers to score double digits in the first five games since Paige Robinson in 2020-21, who went on to score in double figures every game that season.
- Mendel has also notched two double-doubles, one against Saginaw Valley State and the other against Missouri Southern. She now sits at eight career wins.
- Also against Missouri Southern, Mendel blocked five shots. The most from a Lady Panther since 2014, when Amber Dvorak did so, and one shy of the program record.
- Mendel is top-five in the GLVC in scoring (5th), rebounding (2nd), and field-goal percentage (3rd).
- The middle of the games have been a struggle for the Lady Panthers, being outscored by 45 points in the 2nd and 3rd quarter combined.
- The toughest stretch has come in the third quarter. Drury is being outscored by 29 points in the third and has yet to outscore an opponent in that frame.
- The second quarter has been slightly better. Drury is -16 in the second quarter. Only twice this season have the Lady Panthers outscored a team in the second quarter: Texas A&M International and Arkansas Fort Smith.
- Kaci Bailey enters Monday with a 49-17 record at Drury and 35-7 against GLVC teams.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Lady Panthers continue their five-game road stretch on December 4 at Truman State for a 5:15 pm tip off.
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