Drury Panthers

[crazznewt]

Big win by the Lady Panthers as they proved they can more than manage being in foul trouble as Daniels and Hitt helped carry the team when DaMitz and Moore had to go to the bench in the first half. They came in and hit big shots, but I was especially impressed with Hitt crashing the boards against much bigger players and the precision passing by Daniels.

Early in the game, Truman's Hannah Belanger showed she can score in bunches if the defense isn't focused on stopping her first. Later, Moore and DaMitz proved they each can guard her very effectively one on one. Truman is a good team, but It would appear that as Belanger goes, Truman goes.

The Lady Panthers out rebounded the bigger Bulldogs 40 to 30, including 15 offensive. This was an impressive performance on the boards as Truman came into the game leading the GLVC in defensive rebounds and rebound margin.

Other highlights were Moore and DaMitz showing no fear on drives to the hoop and Findley's explosive athletism in the open court enroute to seven steals. Also impressive was the attendance of 1275 despite the lack of a big student presence yet again.

[crazznewt]

Thankful I get to watch meaningful basketball today as the Lady Panthers play Truman in a matchup of two teams that seem to be hitting their stride and two men's teams who are in danger of being left out of the postseason.

I like watching Truman's Hannah Belanger play. She gets to her spots quick and has the strength to finish her shots consistently with good form. She takes the bulk of their shots as she has 278 attempts thus far. She will likely get the league MVP.

The MT Vernon, MO varsity girls had to cancel the remainder of ther season because of multiple injuries. They started the season with 10 players and now are down to five. This is a team that was state runners-up a couple seasons ago.

Paige Robinson is playing with a painful injury again. This time a severely sprained left wrist that caused her to miss the Belmont game. She has matured into a tough young lady. I remember her crying as a young freshman after an ankle injury.
She is a candidate for the Missouri Valley Conference MVP. Hopefully she gets the chance to showcase her full potential without the hindrance of another injury.

[crazznewt]

The Panthers should have won in Quincy. The referees swallowed their whistles at the end of that game. Should have been a charge or at least a travel called on the Hawks. Nonetheless, Drury's young team is still improving. Also, freshman Logan Applegate will be in the running for GLVC freshman of the year.

[crazznewt]

UMSL Women upset Lewis Monday in double overtime. Stewart is looking more mobile of late and is commanding double teams making it easy to get others open. Indy Women, UMSL, and Lewis have been up and down all season, as has Truman who has one league loss to 2 GLVC win SBU, who they barely beat today in Kirksville

The Lady Panthers are still consistently winning despite that huge target on their back as it would look good on a competitor's resume if they could pull off the upset. Usually, Drury opponents' biggest, loudest crowds are when the Lady Panthers are in town. On that same topic, look for Truman to bring a vocal group for Saturday's game in Springfield as the "Dogs" fans were loud and proud on their Florida trip. Hopefully, the "Fanthers" will be joined by some classmates just like old times.

Reese Shaaf is the best freshman in the league IMO. The league MVP, Defensive Player, and Freshman of the Year picks may not always be awarded to the best players (like last year) as these awards are most often based on just numbers. Unlike most other teams, Drury does not need a player or two to carry the team every single game, thus resulting in the scoring load being spread among more players. Three Lady Panthers have won 4 GLVC player of the week awards this season and the coaches have developed a nice balance in the rotation... earlier this season, Drury beat Quincy 77 to 55 in Springfield. Monday in Quincy, The score was 87 to 49 and no Lady Panther played over 23 minutes or scored more than 12 points.

This team is not unbeatable as the one point overtime loss to Ashland proved, but they will be a tough draw for anyone they face going forward.

[crazznewt]

The GLVC needs to address player behavior before things get out of hand. Yesterday, there were numerous chippy knocking away of a defender's legal arm position, players repeatedly getting in an opponent's face after a score, players yelling from the bench, players repeatedly "shushing" the crowd, coaches that modeled that behavior by loudly and constantly displaying frustration (spinning, throwing arms in air, screaming, etc) with players and referees.
I'm not so naive that I think the home team is 100% innocent however, all one has to do is watch the games on replay, especially the U of Indianapolis Women's bench - the guys in the white shirts. The referees tried to control that game as there were SIXTY-FIVE fouls called.

The GLVC women's tournament back in '19 is an example of what could happen when a coach is not held accountable for bench decorum. The Bellarmine coach was out of control the whole game and her players were frustrated as a result. The final result was suspensions and repremands after a mistaken Bellarmine player assaulted a Drury player in retaliation for a perceived cheap shot.

If action is not taken, this will not end well.

[crazznewt]

Panther fans have been patiently waiting for one of the high profile freshmen to have a breakout game. It finally happened in the person of guard Logan Applegate, who scored 31 points on 11 of 15 in the victory over Mckendree. Hopefully this starts an upward trend.

The Lady Panthers beat Mckendree by 39 and the final score could have been much worse. Drury had 5 in double figures and scored 96 points. By the time conference season is over, the GLVC stat leaders page will have a whole different look.

Across town, Illinois State Women beat Missouri State by 4. Drury grad Paige Robinson scored an efficient 22 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and no turnovers. She was clearly the best player on the floor and didn't disappoint her many fans in attendance at Great Southern Arena.

Here are words you have never heard in the same sentence: Rockhurst sweeps UMSL in basketball.

[crazznewt]

Like the Lady Panthers, I'm sure Ashland gets everyone's best shot. However, I don't see any GMAC team beating Ashland this season. It's unfortunate that Grand Valley, Ashland and Drury have to play in the same regional. I think the Central region is loaded also.

I think Lewis is emerging as the favorite to de-throne Drury in the GLVC even though they lost at home to Truman. The Flyers didn't play well early last season but made it to the conference championship with the exact same team.

Some others:
*Truman is big, beat Lewis, but got dominated by a weak SBU team for the second straight season. On any given day though they can pull an upset if rested, IMO.

*Quincy, MO S and T and Maryville are very athletic and are capable of an upset in the league tournament, IMO

*SBU is huge and have gone through multiple lineup changes. Their only good win was against Truman. They did win their first ever post season game as a GLVC member last season.

*Rockhurst has some talent but no good wins. Hopefully the one Hawks player who showed demonstrative, disrespectful behavior in all three games against Drury last season learned in general, its not wise to give good players extra motivation.

*UMSL is not playing good ball as Stewart appears to still be hobbled.

*Haven't watched Indy yet.

Hopefully everybody can stay healthy and injury free and let this play out.

[unc4life]

I don't understand why good teams schedule lower division teams that aren't even good at their level. I guess it gives the bench players some playing time, sometimes pads the won - loss record and sometimes makes the season box score look better.
Grand Valley Women have played one of the weakest schedules you will ever see for a good team, and it came back to haunt them at home against Lewis, who have played a tough schedule.

The Lady Panthers' non conference schedule was very strong, including the game against a very good NAIA team that is one of the most athletic teams they will face all season. Truman and Ashland have also played tough schedules, and along with Lewis, will likely see this pay off in the long run.

The Lady Panthers will likely move to number two in the regional and national polls behind the always tough Ashland Eagles. It will be interesting to see how far Grand Valley drops in Tuesday's polls since they lost at home to an unranked team.

I like the Lady Panther's chances in the post season if their young players keep improving at this rate.

I have said this all along that Grand Valley's schedule was crazy weak. They have a good team yes, but the GLIAC since Ashland left is a 1 team conference. Ashland just beat the 2nd best GLIAC team Michigan Tech by 28 points last week. Half of GV's non conferences teams I have never heard of.

[crazznewt]

I don't understand why good teams schedule lower division teams that aren't even good at their level. I guess it gives the bench players some playing time, sometimes pads the won - loss record and sometimes makes the season box score look better.
Grand Valley Women have played one of the weakest schedules you will ever see for a good team, and it came back to haunt them at home against Lewis, who have played a tough schedule.

The Lady Panthers' non conference schedule was very strong, including the game against a very good NAIA team that is one of the most athletic teams they will face all season. Truman and Ashland have also played tough schedules, and along with Lewis, will likely see this pay off in the long run.

The Lady Panthers will likely move to number two in the regional and national polls behind the always tough Ashland Eagles. It will be interesting to see how far Grand Valley drops in Tuesday's polls since they lost at home to an unranked team.

I like the Lady Panther's chances in the post season if their young players keep improving at this rate.

[crazznewt]

The Drury Men looked good in the second half of their win today. I still believe this team will be good before season's end with that almost entirely new roster of mostly underclassmen. Preston Cook had a great game that included a highlight reel dunk in the halfcourt. This game was well attended considering the date.
Just when it was looking like the Drury Women was the only league team capable of pulling off a big win, Lewis upset number 1 Grand Valley in Michigan! And Indianapolis upset Ferris State, also on the road.

Was thumbing through the GLVC Network and stopped on the one game being played between Rockhurst and Baker. What stood out besides Keegan Sullivan's second half dominance was the unruly Baker crowd who were unusally hard on the officials. I thought the game was called well.

Grace

[crazznewt]

The number 3 Lady Panthers are playing the most consistent basketball in the conference. They not only lead the GLVC in scoring, they also lead in defense.
Then number 8 Eckerd, ranked 6th nationally in assist to turnover ratio, turned the ball over 19 times against Drury. The following day the Tritons beat Truman by 30. The Lady Panthers held S and T to 8 made field goals two days after the Miners dominated SBU.
Amy and staff has a nice rotation set and players seem to be adjusting to their roles nicely. Drury has three players that will be in the running for league MVP IMO. Maybe Covid and injury won't be a factor this season for the first time in a few years.

Another testament to the strength of this program: After 11 games, Drury grad Paige Robinson leads all Missouri Valley Conference teams in scoring, including that 37 she dropped on the University of Wisconsin in efficient fashion.

Former Jewell and GLVC all Freshman player AinsleyTolson, is playing for her third school, Baker University.

[crazznewt]

The number 5 Lady Panthers appear to be in great position going into the mandated break after 2 big wins in Florida, including a double figure victory against #8 Eckerd.
The coaching staff does an excellent job every season of developing a productive bench. This season, 9 players average between 13 and 29 minutes a game. Having a deep team certainly helped the girls overcome adversity on this trip.

It is really easy to be a casual fan of this program that recruits mainly local talent, has an all time record of 587 wins and 117 losses, has been in the top 25 for 140 consecutive weeks and in the top 10 for 78 straight weeks. As a result, their games consistently are among the highest attended in all of D2.

[crazznewt]

Some quick random thoughts:
*If they keep adding teams, it will turn into the N (No-one) C (Cares) A (About) A (Anymore) D1 league. Competing for a D1 conference title is the best 90% of these teams can ever hope for. Maybe once every 4 years they might make the "Big Dance" as a 15 seed.

*Saint Louis University fell to Maryville on the Billiken's home floor by 8, and is the latest D1 to fall to a GLVC women's team.

*This same SLU team beat a Drury alumnus Paige Robinson led Illinois State team by 10 and Drury beat Maryville by 18 in STL.

*By the way, Paige Robinson is 18th in scoring (20.6) for all of D1. This includes 53% from the field, 49% from 3, and still shoots with range and a quick release. To top it off, she is probably the best defender on the team. Robinson is an early favorite for the Missouri Valley Conference MVP award, having already been honored with one conference player and two newcomer of the week awards. Her efficient 37 points on 7 of 7 from 3 against Wisconsin opened some eyes.

*There are some good players in the GLVC, and Maryville's Antoinette Mussorici is one of them. She is one the few players who can score in bunches AND get in your face on defense. To be a scorer but not back it with the same intensity on defense is not first team worthy in my opinion. Drury has three players who all should be first team all league at season's end.

*My early pick for league MVP is Terrion Moore. She can have an off night offensively and still dominate the game in ways that are not noted in the box score. She is the best athlete and defender in every game she plays.

[crazznewt]

What an odd night of basketball:
* The Lady Panthers commited 22 fouls, sending S and T to the line 28 times. Drury fouled a lot early last season also, eventually finishing with one of the best defending teams in the nation.
* S and T shot 8 of 51 from the field for 15.7%, an example of the potential of this Drury team.

* Rockhurst received a technical foul before their game against Maryville for a malfunction of the red LED backboard lights.
* In the same game, an inadvertent whistle was blown, resulting in Maryville losing control of the ball to an alternating possession call.

Some impressive things I witnessed Monday night:
* Drury's Anna Hitt showed her incredible athleticism by sprinting about 60 feet to run down a well over thrown pass out running the defense to make the layup
* Anna also made an exciting athletic defensive play after she got beat off of the dribble by S and T's quick point guard at well above the top of the key. Anna caught up to her player deep in the lane and cleanly blocked the shot back toward the free throw line. These plays you had to see to appreciate.

*UMSL's Kiara Stewart was obviously hobbled in the game against SBU as it looked like she was hesitant to jump to finish her shot on offense. Although, she was able to use her strength to position (often camping) herself around the lane to grab 16 rebounds, 7 offensive, while never jumping off of the floor.

Also, looks like UMSL women have a player dropped from the roster as Mallory Ronshaushen is no longer listed.

[crazznewt]

The Lady Panther's opponent tonight is the S and T Lady Miners. Among S and T's games were close losses in exhibitions with a couple of below average D1 teams, and a dominating win at SBU Saturday in Bolivar. S and T led by 34 at one time, prompting the SBU play by play guy to predict a close game in Springfield tonight.

Kiera Stewart is back in the Lineup for UMSL after missing a couple games (losses). She was probably the best player on the floor in their close exhibition loss to D1 SIUE. The Lady Panthers play on the road in St Louis on Thursday.

Who knows what to expect from the rebuilding (men) Panthers tonight.
That's a lot of new young players to teach. They will be good soon. It will be a tough atmosphere Thursday in St Louis.

I've been trying to figure out how to compliment referees on their hard work without sounding facetious or insincere. Try it from your seat sometime.