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Posted: Saturday, 23 February 2013 7:47PM

Lady Panthers Clinch GLVC Tourney Slot



Kansas City, Mo. -- Drury used a 16-0 run in the first half to build a cushion and then coasted past Rockhurst for a 61-38 victory Saturday that clinched a berth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference post-season tournament.

Drury's 25th straight victory over Rockhurst pushed the Lady Panthers' records to 13-12 overall and 7-10 in the GLVC with one regular season game remaining, at Missouri Science and Technology Thursday night in Rolla.

The Lady Panthers were battling Rockhurst for the 12th and final slot in the GLVC post-season tourney - which begins at campus sites next Sunday between seeds 5-12 before the surviving teams shift to Evansville, Ind. -  and Drury took care of business early in this one.

Trailing 5-4 in the first five minutes, the Lady Panthers put together a 16-0 run for a 20-5 advantage and held the Hawks scoreless over a nine-plus minute stretch in that surge. Drury would go on to lead 29-15 at halftime.

The second half was all Drury, as the Lady Panthers would lead by as many as 25 points before settling for the final margin.

Bethanie Funderburk had 13 points off the bench to lead the Lady Panthers, who got 12 points from Katie Pritchard and a career-high 11 points (in 19 minutes) off the bench fromSanayika Shields.

"We talked about the importance of this game, 'win and you're in,' and I thought this team responded," Drury coach Steve Harold said. "We said attack the rim and see if we can get on the free throw line and win the game there, and that was accomplished. I thought our kids played well."

The Lady Panthers went 22 for 26 at the stripe, including a 10-for-10 effort from Funderburk.

Pritchard pushed her career total to 1,508 points, moving past Lindsay Ballweg (1,502) for fifth place on the all-time Drury scoring charts. She needs 16 points Thursday to pass Jill Curry (1,523) for fourth place. Kara Rutledge is third at 1,529.

The Lady Panthers claimed a 44-29 advantage on the boards, with Emilie Gray and Abby Bracker grabbing seven each and Kylie Williamson adding six.

Photo Galleries

Pictures: Springfield Catholic 2, Dixon 1


The Lady Irish fight their way to the state final four.

Pictures: Klousia and Sistrunk take 3rd at state


Greenwood's Will Sistrunk Glendale's Micah Klousia finish the season strong

Pictures: Class 3-4 State Track Saturday


The big classes closed out the track meet on Saturday.
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