EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – It’s simple, says two-time GLVC Tournament MVP Paige Robinson: “We always want to keep the championship at Drury.”
She played a major role in making that happen for the sixth straight year on Sunday.
So did Payton Richards and Azia Lynch, who have now played on five of those title teams, after the Lady Panthers overwhelmed Lewis 76-47 in the championship game of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
Robinson scored 17 points and made two blocks in winning her fourth championship and her second-consecutive MVP award. The junior guard has another year of eligibility, so could possibly come back and win a fifth.
Richards scored 15 points, Terrion Moore 14, Allie Clevenger nine and Lynch six in the balanced offensive attack. The second-seeded Lady Panthers hit 30 of 66 on field-goal attempts for 46.5 percent in boosting their record to 31-4.
The Flyers are 16-15 and had been 32-for-64 for 3-point shots in the tournament’s first three games. Lily Courier led them with 13 points.
Lewis jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but six points from Moore helped the Lady Panthers rally for a 17-12 lead after one quarter.
Moore was particularly effective by setting an in-your-face tone on defense: The graduate guard made eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Richards played a critical role at a critical time for Drury with a trio of 3-point shots in the second quarter; the last trey coming with 31 seconds left that staked the Lady Panthers to a 35-23 halftime lead.
How overwhelming was Drury’s victory? – Lewis made just two treys: “It was great to only give up 12 attempts to a team that was averaging 12 made three’s in the tournament,” said Coach Amy Eagan.
– The fifth-seeded Flyers had easily defeated No. 1 Southern Indiana 88-72 in the first semifinal on Saturday.
– Lewis had defeated Drury 87-79 on Feb. 17, a 40-point turnaround. That loss definitely was “a motivation” to win, Robinson said after Saturday’s semifinal victory.
– Drury led 72-36 with 4:17 left in the game.
Eagan told the Lady Panthers before the game that they had to play far better defense than in that loss. “I couldn’t be prouder of them,” she said. “The last time we struggled defensively and I said we’re going to show them (great defense) this time.”
To do that, she utilized the team’s good depth. “A lot of our kids do lots of different things,” Eagan noted. “We can get matchups – go athletic, go big. Today, we had to play a little more small game.”
That worked nearly to perfection as Drury forced 25 turnovers and allowing only 17-of-52 on field-goal attempts. The Lady Panthers cemented their chances at victory by stopping the first five Lewis possessions of the third quarter while building a 39-23 lead. It was 55-30 going into the fourth quarter.
Junior forward Alana Findley, who also was named to the all-tournament team, ran into foul trouble in the third quarter, yet managed six rebounds, four steals and four points.
Drury won the tournament title for the ninth time in 15 years of playing in the GLVC.
The Lady Panthers await their seeding for the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Tournament that will start on Friday. It will be announced at 9 p.m. Sunday on NCAA.com The team will host a watch party in The Lair inside the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
Drury ranked eight nationally in last week’s poll, but two other schools in the Midwest Region were
ahead of them coming into conference championships, Grand Valley is ranked second and Ashland, ranked number four.
