ASHLAND, Ohio. – For the second straight season, the Drury Lady Panthers will play for an NCAA-II regional championship. Second seeded Drury beat third seeded Saginaw Valley State 67-55 in the second round of the Midwest Regional in Ashland, Ohio on Saturday.
Drury, ranked fifth in NCAA-II, advances to the national round of 16 for the eighth time in program history and with their win on Saturday raised their record to 30-3. Saginaw Valley State ended their season with a 23-8 record.
The Lady Panthers grabbed a double-digit lead in the opening quarter using a 14-0 run to go up 18-4 in the first three minutes of the game. Drury took a 32-22 lead to halftime then opened up the cushion even more in the third quarter. The Lady Panthers went up by 17 points, 45-28, with 4:20 remaining in the third period.
The Cardinals, however, mounted a furious rally early in the fourth quarter. Saginaw Valley State reeled off 13 unanswered points to pull within four points of the lead, 49-45, with 4:47 left in regulation.
The Lady Panthers responded by scoring the next seven points capped by a Paige Wilson three-pointer with 2:52 remaining to back up by eleven, 56-45. Drury held off Saginaw Valley State from there to win by 12.
“We wanted to pressure them on the outside to contain them on the inside,” said Drury head coach Molly Miller. “Saginaw Valley State does a good job of running a high-low game and getting post touches. We thought if we could get after them defensively, they would have a tougher time getting those looks inside.”
The result of Drury’s pressure defense was 27 Cardinals turnovers. It also limited the effectiveness of Saginaw Valley State’s center Emily Wendling, the reigning NCAA-II Midwest Regional Player of the Year. Wendling didn’t score in the first half and finished the game with 14 points, five under her average.
The Lady Panthers, meanwhile, were led by Daejah Bernard‘s 20 points. The 20 points matched a season high for the freshman from St. Joseph, Missouri as she went 9 for 9 from the field and had six steals before fouling out with 1:47 left in the game.
Paige Wilson added 13 points. The senior from Bartlesville, Oklahoma topped the 1,000 career point barrier in the game becoming the 14th player in Drury women’s basketball history to surpass the milestone.
Hailey Diestelkamp had 10 points for the Lady Panthers and had seven rebounds and four steals.
Wendling’s 14 points led the Cardinals.
The 30 wins for Drury is the Lady Panthers’ first 30-win campaign since their 2006 when they went 30-3. Drury’s other 30-win season was in 2004 when the Lady Panthers were the NCAA-II national runner-up with a 36-2 record.
Drury advances to the regional final for a second straight season. The Lady Panthers lost to Grand Valley State, 62-60 in overtime last season in Ashland, Ohio. Drury has claimed three regional titles in program history (2014, 2007 and 2004).
The Lady Panthers play the winner of the other Midwest Regional semifinal between Ashland and Grand Valley State. Ashland is the top seed in the region and is ranked number one in NCAA-II. Grand Valley State entered the tournament as the fifth seed in the region.
Game time on Monday is 6 p.m. (central) at Kates Gym in Ashland, Ohio.
