SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– Drury women's basketball coach Kaci Bailey has announced that former Lady Panthers guard Payton Richards will join her staff as an assistant coach. Richards joins the coaching staff following the departure of Jenna Knudson, who accepted a position on the coaching staff at Buffalo.
 
Richards played five seasons for the Lady Panthers and was a three-time All-Great Lakes Valley Conference performer. She was a key member of Drury's 32-0 team in 2019-20 that ended the season ranked number one nationally, and was a starter on the Lady Panthers National Runner-Up team in 2020-21 that finished the year 24-2. Playing for head coaches Molly Miller and Amy Eagan, the Lady Panthers compiled a 154-11 record in the five seasons Richards played for Drury. She appeared in four national tournaments, and two Final Fours, with the 2020 NCAA-II Tournament canceled due to COVID-19.
 
Richards currently ranks 12^th on Drury's all-time scoring list with 1,261 career points. She is also second all-time in three-pointers made (262), seventh in assists (382), and sixth in steals (224).
 
After completing graduate school at Drury, Richards served on the coaching staff at Nixa High School in 2023-24 and then worked as an assistant at Clarke University in the NAIA the following year.
 
"We are so excited to bring Payton home," said Bailey. "She truly embodies what a Lady Panther is all about, and she is one of the best young coaches in the game."
 
Originally from West Plains, Missouri, Richards was an All-State selection twice and a four-time All-Ozark Conference performer. She graduated from Drury Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Biology, and she earned a Master's degree from DU in Communication & Organizational Leadership.
 
Jenna Knudson leaves Drury after two seasons on the Lady Panthers bench as an assistant coach. She helped Drury go 47-14 with a 35-7 mark in the GLVC during those two years. Knudson arrived at Drury with head coach Kaci Bailey in 2023 after working for her at Quincy for two years as an assistant with the Hawks.
 
"We wish coach Knudson the best in her next chapter," said Bailey. "I want to thank her for the last four years being by my side."  
 
Knudson will join the coaching staff at Buffalo, a Division I program in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
 
The Lady Panthers finished the 2024-25 season 22-7 and went 17-3 in the GLVC.
 

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