ASHLAND, Ohio – Drury’s opening round opponent in the NCAA-II National Tournament was a team they had to play for the fourth time this year and for the third time in 13 days, but the Lady Panthers were able to duplicate their three previous wins over Lewis and advance to the second round with a 71-60 win over the Flyers in Ashland, Ohio, on Friday.
Drury, ranked second nationally and the number two seed in the Midwest Regional, won their 27th straight game to improve to 31-1. Lewis, the number seven seed in the regional, ended their year with a 21-11 record.
After leading 19-16 after the first quarter, Drury held the Flyers to just nine points in the second period and Terrion Moore’s 17-foot jumper with two seconds left in the half gave the Lady Panthers a 37-25 lead at the intermission.
Drury built a 14-point lead in the second half, but Lewis pulled within four on free throws with 8:33 left in the fourth quarter. Terrion Moore’s lay-up on Drury’s next possession sparked a 10-0 run capped by an Allie Clevenger three-pointer that gave the Lady Panthers a 63-49 lead with 3:24 remaining and put the game out of reach.
Moore led Drury with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Alana Findley contributed 14 points and seven boards. Kaylee DaMitz-Holt added 14 points and Clevenger had 10 to give Drury four players in double-figures.
“Playing a great team three times and beating them is tough, and having to play a team for a fourth and beating is really hard, so I’m proud of our kids and how they made adjustments today,” said Drury head coach Amy Eagan. “I thought we put together a pretty good game from start to finish and I thought our bench was really good today.”
Drury’s bench outscored Lewis’ 16-9 and out-rebounded them 17-8.
Lewis was led by Grace Hilber with 18 points, while Kathryn Schmidt, limited to just two points in Drury’s win over the Flyers in Sunday’s GLVC Championship game, had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Drury owned a 41-28 advantage in rebounds, with 10 of those coming on the offensive glass.
The Lady Panthers are in their 20th NCAA-II Tournament and now will advance to the second round of the national event for the 15th time in their history.
Drury will play the Midwest Regional’s number three seed and fifth-ranked team in NCAA-II, Grand Valley State on Saturday at 4 pm (Central) in Ashland, Ohio. The Lakers are 30-2 and advanced to the second round with an 81-77 win in overtime over sixth-seeded Kentucky Wesleyan earlier on Friday.
