SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Lady Panthers return to The O'Reilly Family Event Center on Thursday evening against Illinois Springfield in search of their fifth win of January.
Drury enters play on Thursday after back-to-back games decided by three points apiece, a win at McKendree, and a loss at Maryville. Illinois Springfield has won two straight games, but has not won a game on the road since November 18.
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 are 20-1 against UIS all-time.
- The lone win for the Prairie Stars came in Illinois during the 2023-24 season.
- While playing in The O', Drury is 9-0.
- Kaci Bailey is 2-0 against UIS as the Drury head coach.
STORYLINES
- The Lady Panthers enter play on Thursday in third place in the GLVC with a 7-2 record. UMSL (10-0) and Maryville (8-2) are the only teams ahead of Drury in the standings.
- Thursday's game is a meeting of the second and third-scoring offenses in the GLVC. Drury is scoring 69.8 points throughout the season, and UIS is at 69.4 points per game.
- While playing at home this season, the Lady Panthers are 5-2. The only GLVC home loss was to Missouri S&T on January 8.
- Illinois Springfield has struggled on the road this season. The Prairie Stars are 1-5 on the road this season. The only road win came on November 18 at Purdue Northwest. Under UIS head coach Olivia Birt, the Prairie Stars are 3-16 on the road over the last two seasons.
- Rhi Gibbons extended her double-digit scoring streak last week to 20 games, dating back to last season. She is the first Lady Panther to score double figures in the first 16 games of the season since Paige Robinson in the 2020-21 season.
- Sara Mendel's double-double streak ended against McKendree at seven games. It was the longest active streak in NCAA Division Two this season.
- Mendel crossed the 500 career rebound mark last week. She now sits at 509 rebounds, which ranks 14th all-time at Drury. She is three behind Abby Bracker (512) and nine behind Bethanie Funderburk (518).
- Freshman Sage Stratton has started three consecutive games. She is the first freshman to start at least three games in a season since Hailey Diestelkamp and Daejah Bernard each started 30+ games in the 2016-17 season.
- Kaci Bailey has showcased a new starting lineup over the last three games. The new lineup is Kaylee King, Rhi Gibbons, Jazz Gray, Sage Stratton, and Sara Mendel. The new lineup is scoring 87.3 points per 40 minutes, ranking in the 91st percentile nationally in NCAA Division II. The five are shooting 54.7% from the field while on the court together.
- Since the move to the bench, Audra Pasakarnis has increased her shooting percentage by 4%. She has made five threes over the last three games; in the first 13 games, she had only made two.
- In GLVC play this season, the Lady Panthers are scoring 25.3 points off the bench. In their most recent game, it was highlighted by 14 points from Audra Pasakarnis and 12 from Raegan Halliday. Drury is a +56 against opponents in bench scoring this season.
- Kaci Bailey will face a familiar foe on Thursday. Bailey's coach, teammate, Olivia (Lett) Birt, is the head coach for UIS. The two played one season together at Southern Illinois during Bailey's senior season and Birt's freshman season.
- UIS has won back-to-back games and is 7-10 overall and 4-5 in GLVC play this season.
- The Prairie Stars are led by Kayla Rice. Rice is ranked in the top ten in multiple GLVC categories: scoring (2nd), steals (2nd), and three-point percentage (fourth).
- Rice is nearing UIS history; she is three made threes away from setting a new program career record (the current record is 164, held by Tehya Fortune, she has 162). Rice is also six steals away from becoming the Prairie Stars' all-time steal holder (the current record is 206, held by Lauren Ladowski; she has 201). 27 points would give Rice her 1,000th career point, only the fifth player in UIS history.
- UIS has three players averaging double-digit points: Rice (16.1), Julia Mingus (12.4), and Kennedy Osterman (12.1).
- Drury is three wins away in The O' from their 200th in just 16 seasons.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Lady Panthers finish their weekend at The O' on Saturday against Indianapolis for the Scarlet and Gray Out and Rebound Foundation Game.
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