EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Great defense wins games. And so does dominating post play.
The Lady Panthers had both and a lot more – such as 54-percent shooting and 19 assists – on Thursday as they took a smothering 92-55 victory over Rockhurst in the second round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
It’s now two down and two to go for the Lady Panthers as they seek their sixth consecutive tournament title. They play a semifinal game on Saturday afternoon and the final is scheduled Sunday afternoon. Coach Amy Eagan said the team expects to win another title: “That’s a great way to set the tone for the tournament.”
The second-seeded Lady Panthers showed great energy and unselfish play in stopping Rockhurst. They scored time after time on back cuts and fast breaks as the stout defense led to offensive opportunities.
“What we always talk about is defense. Everything starts with that,” said Eagan. “They just executed very well.”
The defense was so complete at the start that the Lady Panthers didn’t allow a field goal in the first quarter. They scored the first 15 points and led 24-4 going into the second quarter – then boosted the lead to 28 with eight straight points.
“We came out blazing for sure,” said junior forward Alana Findley, who dominated in the post in the first half with 14 points, six rebounds and five steals. She ended with 20, seven and six. “That’s exciting, fun basketball right there.”
Several others joined in the statistical fun times: senior guard Paige Robinson scored a game-high 22 points and made four rebounds and four assists. Graduate guard Kaylee DaMitz scored 15 and missed only one shot all day. She was 2-for-2 on 3-pointers and 7-for-7 on free throws.
Graduate guard Terrion Moore added nine points, four rebounds and a game-high six assists. Sophomore guard Allie Clevenger scored eight and had two assists.
The victory for the 29-4 Lady Panthers followed another walkaway in the tournament opener when they defeated William Jewell 97-51 on Monday.
Findley said revenge was a bit of a factor in Drury’s fast start on Friday: “We got down 20 points to them the first time we played,” she said. “Our mentality was to put them down 20 and that’s what we did.”
Eagan said the players certainly have a bit of a chip on their shoulders because they are seeded second and they would like some revenge on three of the other teams that are still in the tournament field: Missouri-St. Louis, Truman State and Lewis.
Drury will play in the semifinal on Saturday against the winner of No. 3 seed UMSL and No. 6 seed Illinois-Springfield. UMSL defeated Drury 75-65 on Feb. 3, but Robinson didn’t play because she was still recovering from a wrist injury.
Five Lady Panthers were honored before the game on Friday, Robinson and Findley for making the GLVC first team, DaMitz the second team and Moore and Payton Richards on the third team.
Rockhurst senior guard Daly Sullivan was also a first-team honoree. She scored a team-high 17 points for seventh-seeded Rockhurst, which finished the season at 16-12.
