SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– The showcase battle most were expecting to see in the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament championship game never materialized on Sunday, as the top-seeded Drury Lady Panthers used a pair of early scoring explosions to set an uncatchable pace, and they defeated second seed Truman State, 76-60, at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
The win is the fifth consecutive GLVC tournament title for Drury and their eighth overall and pushes their season record to 20-1.
The Lady Panthers opened the game on an 11-0 scoring run, then after the Bulldogs pulled back to within two points midway through the first quarter, a 16-0 scoring binge over the next five minutes took Drury to a lead of twenty and ultimately a 48-31 margin at the half.
“It definitely was a special day,” said Drury head coach Amy Eagan. “I mean, five straight for these kids and for our seniors going out winning every GLVC championship, that makes it extra special for them. Going into it, I felt we really had a good game plan, and the kids executed it to perfection.”
A career outing for reserve sophomore Alana Findley was a key for the Lady Panthers. Findley finished with a career-high 17 points and a career-best seven rebounds in pacing the Drury performance.
“I can’t say it was just offense for Alana,” added Eagan. “She rebounded for us, played great defense for us, and gave us a great night off of the bench.”
Senior Emily Parker finished with 19 points, including seventeen in the first half to take scoring honors. Junior Paige Robinson, the GLVC Player-of-the-Year finished with 16, and senior Azia Lynch added 10 to the Drury scoring effort.
Hannah Belanger topped the scoring for the Bulldogs, finishing with 16 points as Truman State drops to 16-4 overall.
Robinson was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the all-tournament team by Parker to represent Drury. Belanger and Ellie Weltha were selected on behalf of Truman State, with the final all-tournament spot going to Alex LaPorta of Missouri-St. Louis.
The Lady Panthers will now advance to the NCAA-II Midwest Regional, which they will host beginning on Friday, March 12, at the O’Reilly Family Event Center. Details of the teams participating in the regional will be announced Sunday evening, during the NCAA’s Division II selection show.
The regional’s opening games will be played March 12-13, with the championship contest scheduled for Monday, March 15.
