Drury Lady Panthers head coach Molly Miller has announced the signing of three players for the 2017-18 season. All three officially declared their decision during the NCAA’s initial signing date for basketball last week.
The Drury women’s basketball program will add guard / forward Emily Parker from Aurora, Missouri, guard Payton Richards from West Plains, Missouri and forward Azia Lynch from Blue Valley High School in Overland Park, Kansas.
“This recruiting class adds some needed depth inside, brings in some high basketball IQs, and a lot of toughness,” said Lady Panthers head coach Molly Miller. “We have a good mix as each player will fill a different role and bring something unique to our team next year. Collectively they are about as gritty and competitive as they come.”
Azia Lynch (6-0, F, Blue Valley HS, Overland Park, Kan.)
Azia Lynch will enter her senior year at Blue Valley High School in Overland Park, Kansas having been named an all-conference performer as a sophomore and a junior. She averaged 15 points per game last year and led her team in rebounds each of the last two seasons. Lynch posted double-doubles 10 times in both her sophomore and junior seasons and had a game of 14 assists as a sophomore. She also serves as a team captain.
“Azia is an athletic rebounding machine,” said Miller. “Her and (fellow signee Emily Parker) both play tough in the paint but are developing an outside shot that, with some consistency could make them a double threat. Azia has a motor, and when you add her physicality her game becomes blue-collar -like. That type of presence and toughness at the forward position will be big for us next year.”
Emily Parker (6-1, G/F, Aurora HS, Aurora, Mo.)
Emily Parker shot 58 percent from the field and averaged 22.6 points per game as a junior for Aurora before a knee injury ended her season. Parker was a first team All-State selection in Class 4 as a sophomore and as a junior. She saw varsity action as a freshman for the Houn’ Dawgs and was an All-Big 8 Conference pick that year as well. This year, Parker will play for former Drury Lady Panthers assistant coach Trish Marsh who takes over the Aurora program this season.
“Emily’s playing style can be summed up in one word – grit,” stated Miller. “I remember going to one of her AAU practices and, little did I know until the coach said something, she had tooth surgery that same morning. She is a tough and aggressive competitor that will add some dimension to our inside game but be a possible mismatch for some posts with the ability to stretch to the perimeter.”
Payton Richards (5-6, G, West Plains HS, West Plains, Mo.)
Payton Richards has been an All-Ozarks Conference selection as a freshman, sophomore and junior for West Plains and a first team pick for the last two years. Last season, she was named All-State by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. Richards has led the Zizzers to two Ozark Conference titles and last year averaged 15.3 points, 3.9 assists and 2.7 steals per game. She has also earned All-Academic honors in the Ozark Conference for the last three years while posting a grade point average of 4.225.
“Payton is the type of player every coach wants to coach,” said Miller. “Her will to improve, her ‘coachability’ and the constant work she puts into improving her game means her best playing days are ahead of her. She is a multidimensional lefty that sees the court extremely well and can also light it up from three, a role we will need to fill with the graduation of one of our top shooters in Paige Wilson.”
