ALLENDALE, Mich.— Drury’s season and Kaci Bailey’s first campaign as the head coach of the Lady Panthers came to an end on Friday as number one ranked Ashland advanced to the second round of the NCAA-II Tournament with a 102-65 win in Allendale, Michigan.
After two seasons as head coach at Quincy, Bailey arrived at Drury, inherited a roster with no returning starters and only six players, then guided the Lady Panthers to 25 wins and the program’s 21st national tournament bid in 24 years. Drury ended the season 25-7, while Ashland moves to the next round with a record of 31-1.
The Eagles, the defending Division II national champions who have won 68 of their last 69 games dating back to last year, smothered Drury early and started the game with a 16-0 lead before the Lady Panthers got on the board with 3:38 remaining in the first quarter. Ashland built a 44-20 lead at halftime, then Drury found their offense to start the third period.
Drury scored 22 points in the third quarter and pulled with 19 late in the period, but Ashland ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to put the contest out of reach.
“I thought we battled in the second half,” said Drury head coach Kaci Bailey. “The lights were a little too bright for us to start the game and we dug ourselves into a hole. But I’ll take that second half effort any day.
“I said to the team, right before we came out, you’re about to see the best half-court defense you’ve seen all year. They took us out of any flow, and we forced a lot of shots in the first half. They’re a great team, they have a lot of upperclassmen, and they get it done on both ends of the floor.”
Zoe Miller led Ashland with 21 points, while Annie Roshak, last year’s NCAA-II National Player of the Year, finished with 16 and seven rebounds. Savaya Brockington added 14 points and Hayley Smith chipped in 13.
Beth Matas Martin led Drury with 18 points, Caitlynn Daniels had 13 and Reese Schaaf finished with 12 points. Schaaf added eight rebounds and set a program single-season record with 318, passing Hailey Diestelkamp’s mark set in 2020.
“I’m super-proud of this group,” added Bailey. “We watched Reese go from a player who came off the bench last year as a freshman to being our go-to player this year and I think she handled it well. Caitlynn Daniels really showcased her ability this year. And with Beth, I can’t thank her enough for what she’s done for me in the last three years and I hate to see her go.”
Martin played two seasons for coach Bailey at Quincy before transferring to Drury for her final season of eligibility. The fifth-year senior from Spain was a First Team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection and averaged 15.5 points.
Forward Andjela Kremenovic also exhausted her eligibility and played her final game on Friday.
Ashland advanced to the second round of the NCAA-II Tournament and will play Ferris State, who defeated Lewis 75-53 on Friday. The Eagles are ranked number one in the NCAA-II coaches’ poll but were not awarded the top seed in the Midwest Regional. Grand Valley State was selected as the top seed and given the host bid for the first three rounds of the tournament.
Drury was playing in their 21st NCAA-II Tournament in its 24-year team history and their 25-7 record moved the program’s all-time record 633-125 for a .835 winning percentage.
