SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Lady Panthers look to rebound from their Thursday night loss against Lincoln on Saturday afternoon in The O'Reilly Family Event Center as Drury Athletics honors the 2025-26 Drury Athletics Hall of Fame Class.
Drury dropped their first game of 2026 on Thursday against Missouri S&T, 74-67. Lincoln has dropped five straight and has not won since December 6 at Lewis.
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
- Drury is 14-0 all-time against Lincoln, dating back to the Lady Panthers' inaugural 2000-01 season.
- While playing in Springfield, Drury is 8-0.
- Under Kaci Bailey, Drury is 2-0. The first meeting was a part of the Lady Panthers' annual Thanksgiving Classic in 2023-24.
- Last season was the first time Drury and Lincoln met as members of the GLVC.
STORYLINES
- The Lady Panthers dropped their first GLVC game of the season on Thursday to Missouri S&T. Drury is now 5-1 in the league and in second place behind UMSL (7-0).
- The loss also ended the Lady Panthers' three-game winning streak.
- Kaci Bailey is now 17-3 in January as the Drury head coach and 10-1 while playing in Springfield.
- Nationally, Drury is 34th in defensive rebounds per game with 28.4. Drury is also 39th in three-point percentage (34.2%), 43rd in three-point percentage defense (25.7%), and 37th in turnovers per game (14.2).
- Sara Mendel is third in the country in double-doubles with nine and second in field goal percentage with a 66.9%.
- Mendel is six points away from reaching 600 career points.
- Sara Mendel is averaging 9.9 rebounds this season. She has already pulled down 129 rebounds this season. She is on pace to pull down 268 boards, which would be seventh all-time in Drury's single season.
- Rhi Gibbons has scored double digits in 17 straight games, dating back to last season. She is the first Lady Panther to score double figures in the first 13 games of a season since Paige Robinson in the 2020-21 season, when Robinson achieved this feat in all 26 games the team played that season.
- Kaylee King enters play on Saturday five points away from 300 career points.
- Josie Storey is four points away from 600 during her college career.
- On Thursday against Missouri S&T, Sage Stratton scored a career-high nine points off the bench for Drury.
- Drury has 196 wins in The O'Reilly Family Event Center in the venue's first 16 seasons.
- Lincoln enters plays 4-10 and 2-5 in GLVC play. Two of the four wins for Lincoln came against NAIA teams.
- The Blue Tigers have already eclipsed their GLVC win total from last season, 1-19.
- Lincoln's top scorer, Laini Joseph, did not play on Thursday against Southwest Baptist and only played in 16 minutes in the prior game against Quincy. Joseph is second in the league in scoring with 15.9 per game.
- Drury Athletics will induct six members into the Drury Athletics Hall of Fame following the women's basketball game.
- Two Lady Panther greats will be honored, Hailey Diestelkamp and Daejah Bernard.
LOOKING AHEAD
Next week, Drury hits the road to Maryville and McKendree for a GLVC road trip.
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