SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Lady Panthers host rival Southwest Baptist Thursday evening in The O' as Drury goes for the sweep of the season series.
The first meeting of the season between the two teams came down to the final possession, where SBU was unable to convert a mid-range jump shot to win, giving Drury the 58-57 win on Dec. 1. Since the win for Drury, the Lady Panthers are 15-3, and the Bearcats are 2-10.
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 19-3 against Southwest Baptist and 9-2 while playing in Springfield.
- Drury has won four straight against the Bearcats.
- Kaci Bailey is 4-1 against the Bearcats in her Drury tenure.
- Since SBU has joined the GLVC (2019-20), the Lady Panthers and Bearcats have played each other twice in a season four times; Drury has swept three of those instances.
STORYLINES
- The Lady Panthers (15-2) sit one game behind UMSL (16-1) in the GLVC standings entering play on Thursday.
- Drury is on a nine-game winning streak, the longest of the season. It is the second-longest streak under Kaci Bailey (13 during the 2023-24 season).
- Southwest Baptist enters its longest winning streak of the season, two games. The Bearcats have beaten Rockhurst and William Jewell in back-to-back games.
- During the Drury win streak, the Lady Panthers are winning by an average of 15.7 points and are shooting 48.5% from the field and 46.2% from the three-point line.
- The Lady Panthers are the second-highest scoring team (72.4) in the GLVC.
- As a team, Drury is shooting 44.9% from the field, the best in the GLVC and 13th in NCAA Division II.
- Drury is second in the nation in three-point percentage at 39%. They trail only Tampa, which is shooting 41.1% this season.
- The Lady Panthers' three-point defense is the second-best in the league. Drury opponents are shooting 26.9% this season. The lowest any Drury opponent has shot in program history is 26.8% during the 2024-25 season.
- Southwest Baptist has the worst free-throw percentage in the league, shooting 61.1%. Drury is middle of the league with a 70.5%.
- SBU is turning the ball over 19.6 times per game, second most in the GLVC. Drury is only forcing 13.8 per game, the third fewest in the league.
- The Bearcats are averaging the most blocks per game in the league at 3.82. They are also third in steals per game at 9.86. The Lady Panthers sit near the bottom of the league in both of those categories, blocks (2.29) and steals (5.29).
- Sara Mendel enters play one double-double away from breaking the Lady Panther single-season double-double record. She currently has 18, tied with Reese Schaaf's 2023-24 season. Schaaf went on to win Regional Player of the Year and was an All-American.
- Mendel is also second in the nation in field goal percentage with a 67.4%. She trails only Nyshae Weaver from Indiana PA, who is shooting 69.2% this season.
- On the glass, Mendel is 15th in NCAA-II in total rebounds (248) and 14th in rebounds per game (10.3).
- Mendel is the regaining GLVC Player of the Week. It is her third of the season; only UMSL's Mara Rieder has more, four.
- Rhi Gibbons has scored at least ten points in 28 straight games. It is the third-longest streak in program history. She trails only Paige Robinson (34) and Hailey Diestelkamp (31).
- Mendel (15.5) and Gibbons (14.3) are both in the top seven of the GLVC in scoring. They are the only pair of teammates in the top ten.
- Kaylee King has made 31 consecutive free throws. The record is 42, held by Bethanie Funderburk.
- King is also ninth in the GLVC in made three-pointers with 45.
- Audra Pasakarnis is seven points away from her 700th career point, including her time at Mineral Area Community College and Drury.
- The starting lineup of Kaylee King, Rhi Gibbons, Jazz Gray, Sage Stratton, and Sara Mendel is now 10-0 this season.
- In each of the last two games, the Lady Panthers have upped their second-half scoring. Against Jewell, Drury scored 44, followed by 45 points against Rockhurst, now the most in a second half for Drury this season.
- The Lady Panthers are 14-1 this season when leading at halftime and leading entering the fourth quarter.
- Drury is 13-0 when shooting at least 70% from the free-throw line this season.
- When keeping opponents under 60 points, the Lady Panthers are 11-0.
- The Lady Panthers are now 12-0 in games when they reach 70 points first this season.
- If the game were to be close again, Drury is 9-4 in games decided by 10 points or less this season and 6-1 in ones decided by five or less.
- Kaci Bailey is 16-3 in February as the Lady Panthers head coach.
- Southwest Baptist is led by Kamiyah Hurd and Natalia Crooke. Hurd is averaging 11.3 points and 7.6 rebounds. Hurd's rebound totals are the fifth-best in the GLVC. Crooke is scoring 11.5 per game, assisting 2.7 times per game, and stealing 2.0 balls per game. Crooke has attempted 179 threes this season, the 12th most in NCAA-II.
- The Bearcats are 2-8 in their last 10 games.
- This season, SBU is 1-8 in road games. Their only road win was Dec. 4 at William Jewell. The Lady Panthers are 9-2 in the O'Reilly Family Event Center this season.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Lady Panthers are off for the remainder of the weekend and return to the court on Feb. 26 against the current first-place GLVC team, UMSL. Drury and UMSL will tip off at 5:45 pm in the O'Reilly Family Event Center as the Lady Panthers will honor three seniors.
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