Lady Panthers hope to finish season strong heading into the NCAA tournament

As another basketball season turns its page from February to March, and the stakes get a little bit higher since the Drury women’s basketball team won their 23rd straight contest against the Lewis Lady Flyers. The win helped the 2nd ranked Lady Panthers keep pace with the top ranked team in the nation, Ashland University, and finish the GLVC conference schedule undefeated. The Lady Eagles are also Drury’s only loss on the year. That game happened back in November, so a lot has changed since then, though both teams have remained dominant throughout the season. 

“They have been really good all year and were the toughest team we have played this year,” Sophomore Caitlyn Daniels said. “We would love another crack at that team, because we feel we can beat them. We’re a little bit of a different team than we were that early in the year, so there’s a lot of belief in our locker room that it would go a bit different this time.”  

The Lady Panthers are looking to get over the hump this season. They have finished as  national runner-up twice and have made it to the regional round numerous times. Coach Amy Eagan is hoping to bring that illusive national title home to Springfield. 

“It has been very tough trying to right the ship and finally win the big one,” Sophomore Anna Hit said. “I think Coach Eagan is great and she can help us get there. She has been great all year and she has pushed us hard. We are ready for the challenge, but now it is up to us to go out and win some big games.” 

Drury will most likely get an automatic bid, and home court advantage throughout the first two rounds, especially if they can win the GLVC tournament in Indianapolis. They will have to go through some teams that tested them though to get there. 

“We obviously have been winning our games in conference, but it hasn’t been as easy as people think,” Daniels said. “At the end of it, we got pushed to the limit. We got tested. It was good for us because we will see teams that will make it difficult. We have to continue to be tough and see how far we can take this. We want home court advantage, but we will have to focus on the conference tournament for that to happen.” 

Drury has all the pieces to be at the top when it’s all said and done. At the end of the day, it will come down to the players, but there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of confidence in the Lady Panthers locker room. 

“We all believe we can win a championship. We have all the right pieces to do it. We have scoring, we have a great defense, and we have the will to win,” Senior Alana Findley said. “ Coach has instilled that into our DNA. We are the only people that can stop us. If we lock in and focus and put it all out there to end the year, we can beat anyone left standing.”

Article by Garrett Rodgers