SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Lady Panthers secured their largest win of the season on Sunday afternoon against William Jewell, 84-34, in The O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
For the second straight game, Drury raced out to an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter before a Jewell three-pointer got them on the board.
 
The Lady Panthers' offense would continue to click for the final seven minutes of the quarter, scoring 19 more points and winning the opening quarter 26-7.
 
The Cardinals opened the second quarter with a layup. Drury responded with a 10-0 run over the next five minutes, led by eight points from Sara Mendel and two from Kaylee King.
 
Entering halftime, Drury led 46-19, their largest lead at halftime this season.
 
William Jewell scored four of the first six points out of the break, one minute into the second half. The Cardinals would not score again until the 3:22 mark, as the Lady Panthers went on a 15-2 run, with King leading the way with eight points.
 
Similar to Friday's game against Rockhurst, Drury played the entire fourth quarter with first-year Lady Panthers. Unlike Friday, when Drury lost the fourth quarter 18-17, the newcomers answered with a 17-4 fourth quarter. Six of the 17 points came from Brooklyn Owens.
 
GAME NOTES

• The win improves Drury's record against William Jewell to 25-3. The Lady Panthers have now won 20 straight against the Cardinals.
• Drury is now 5-0 in GLVC play, still one of two teams undefeated in the league; UMSL is 6-0.
• Sara Mendel recorded her fourth straight double-double of the season with a 15-point, 11-rebound performance. It is Mendel's eighth of the season (tied for ninth most in a single season with Hailey Diestelkamp's 2016-17 season) and 14th career (sixth most).
• Mendel did so on 6-6 shooting from the field, improving her season field goal percentage to 66.7%.
• Rhi Gibbons extended her double-digit scoring streak to 12 games to start the season and 16 games dating back to last season with 10 points.
• Jazz Gray (10), Kaylee King (12), and Brooklyn Owens (11) each scored in double figures. It is the first time this season that Drury has had five players score at least 10 points in a game.
• Flora Lukow scored a Drury career best eight points off the bench.
• Audra Pasakarnis scored seven points, the most for her in seven games.
• The Lady Panthers won every major statistical category in the game, headlined by 26 points in the paint, 30 points off the bench, and 46 rebounds.
• 19 points for Jewell in the first half is the lowest amount for a team playing against Drury in a half this season.
• The Lady Panthers shot over 50% in the first half for the second straight game with a 51.7% performance on 29 attempts.
• Drury finished the game shooting 52.6%, 30 for 57.
• The Drury defense held Jewell to 3-20 shooting from the three-point line.
• From the free throw line, Drury was 18-20.
• Not a single Cardinals player scored in double figures. Jewell was led by Syderah Farmer with nine points on 4 for 14 shooting.
• Drury has now held opponents under 50 points in three straight games. It is the longest streak since the 2018-19 season when they held Rockhurst, William Jewell, and Indianapolis all under 50 in three consecutive games.
• Kaci Bailey is now 17-2 in January as the Lady Panthers head coach and 10-0 at home.
• The Lady Panthers have now won three straight games for the second time this season.
• The win is 196 for the Lady Panthers in the O'.

 
QUOTABLE
"We wanted to punch first and set the tone. I think that's exactly what we did," commented Kaci Bailey postgame, "I am proud of how balanced our offensive attack was today."
 
UP NEXT
The Lady Panthers' next game is Thursday, January 8, when they host Missouri S&T in The O'Reilly Family Event Center for a 5:45 pm tip-off.
 
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