SPRINGFIELD – Drury University’s 2017-18 basketball season will tipoff Oct. 29 with a Lady Panthers exhibition game at home against Columbia (Mo.) while the men’s basketball squad opens with an exhibition contest against Blackburn (Ill.) on Nov. 6.
The two preseason games open a schedule that includes a combined 34 games on 19 home dates at the O’Reilly Family Event Center including the Doubletree by Hilton / Oasis Hotel & Convention Center Thanksgiving Classic that features eight games in two days.
Drury will host their annual Overflow the O’ event on Saturday, Jan. 27 against William Jewell and Homecoming is set for Saturday, Feb. 17 in Drury’s match-up with Wisconsin-Parkside. For both dates, the women’s game starts at 1 p.m. with the men’s tipoff at 3 p.m.
Season tickets are currently on sale at the O’Reilly Family Event Center box office and include a combined ticket plan for both men’s and women’s games. Single game tickets will go on sale Oct. 5. Tickets can also be ordered by phone at (417) 873-6389. Children ages 12 and under are admitted free to all regular season Panthers and Lady Panthers games.
This year’s Great Lakes Valley Conference format will feature 15 teams in three divisions. Drury is part of a GLVC-West division that includes William Jewell, Rockhurst, Missouri S&T and Truman State. The GLVC-Central features Quincy, Maryville, Missouri-St. Louis, McKendree, and Illinois-Springfield while the GLVC-East has Wisconsin-Parkside, Lewis, Indianapolis, Southern Indiana, and Bellarmine.
The GLVC men’s and women’s championship tournament will be in Edwardsville, Illinois on March 1-4 on the campus of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The women’s quarterfinal round will be played on Thursday, March 1 while the men’s quarterfinals are Friday, March 2. The semifinals follow on Saturday, March 3 for both tournaments and both championship games are scheduled for Sunday, March 4.
The men’s and women’s NCAA-II Elite Eight will both be played at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The men’s and women’s games will be played on alternating days between March 19-24.
Men’s Basketball 2017-18 schedule
After starting their schedule with an exhibition game against Blackburn on Nov. 6, the Panthers get their regular season underway at home against Ottawa (Kan.) on Nov. 10. Drury’s first road test will be in the Bank of Bolivar Highway 13 Catfight as the Panthers travel to Southwest Baptist on Nov. 14.
The Panthers host the Doubletree by Hilton Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 24 and 25. Drury takes on Minnesota State Moorhead on the first day of the event. The Dragons are coming off of an NCAA-II national tournament appearance after going 24-6 and 19-3 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Admission to the Friday games of the Thanksgiving Classic is free. The Panthers face Lincoln University of Missouri on the second day of the weekend classic.
Other non-conference highlights on the Drury schedule include two games in Puerto Rico just before Christmas. The Panthers will play the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Dec. 17 and the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras on Dec. 19.
The Panthers open their conference schedule at home on Thursday, Nov. 30 against Missouri-St. Louis. Drury plays two of their first three GLVC games at the O’ with a home game against McKendree on Dec. 2 before going on the road to Quincy on Dec. 7.
Drury head coach Steve Hesser returns for his 14th season leading the Panthers and his squad returns three starters from a team that went 18-10 last year. Among the returners are All-GLVC Freshmen Team selection Isaac Johnson, who averaged 12.4 points last year and All-GLVC Defensive Team pick John Williams, who contributed 10.8 points and shot 58.4 percent from the field in 2016-17.
Women’s Basketball 2017-18 schedule
The Drury Lady Panthers will play two home exhibition games as they face Columbia (Mo.) on Oct. 29 and Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) on Nov. 1.
For the second year in a row, Drury starts the regular season at the Trevecca Nazarene Classic in Nashville. The Lady Panthers will play the host team, Trevecca Nazarene, on Nov. 10 in the season opener and take on Walsh (Ohio) the following afternoon.
Drury’s regular season home opener will come Nov. 18 against Missouri Western State. The Griffins were 21-8 and finished fourth in the MIAA last season.
Other non-conference highlights on the Lady Panthers schedule includes the Bank of Bolivar Highway 13 Catfight at Southwest Baptist on Nov. 14 and a Dec. 5 road game against a Harding team that went 31-4 and advanced to the NCAA-II Final Four last year. Drury hosts Arkansas-Fort Smith and Union (Tenn.) in the Oasis Hotel & Convention Center Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 24-25. The Lady Panthers will take on Lane (Tenn.) College for an 11 a.m. game at the O’ on Wednesday, Jan. 10 as part of their annual Kids’ Day.
The Lady Panthers will head to Hawaii for games against Montana State-Billings and Notre Dame (Ohio) on Dec. 16 and 17.
Drury’s GLVC title defense begins Nov. 30 with a home game against Missouri-St. Louis. The Lady Panthers will host Lewis on Feb. 15 in a rematch of last year’s conference championship game.
Molly Miller will be in her fourth year as head coach of the Lady Panthers in 2017-18. Last year, her Drury team went 30-4, 17-1 in the conference, won the program’s fourth GLVC championship and advanced to the NCAA-II regional final for the second straight season.
The Lady Panthers return three starters from last year’s team including their leading scorer, All-GLVC and All-Region selection Heather Harman (15.3 points per game) and last year’s GLVC Freshman of the Year Hailey Diestelkamp (11.6 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game). The Lady Panthers are also expecting the return of guard Alice Heinzler who missed all of last season with an injury. The Republic native averaged 10.9 points, hit 70 three-pointers and was second in the GLVC with 77 steals during the 2015-16 season.
