Drury Panthers

[crazznewt]

That was a heck of a game the Lady Panthers played at Quincy in that double overtime loss. Everyone knew going in that size and depth were going to be issues and that's how it played out.

This sounds like sour grapes, but it looked odd that Caitlynn Daniels had 3 phantom foul calls against her while Quincy was allowed to often knock Drury out of established position on the block. No excuse though as Drury had their chances. Caitlynn only played 22 minutes, allowing freshman Kaylee King to gain valuable experience while playing well for 27 minutes.

The boards were 58 to 42 in favor of Quincy. Drury is playing well enough to be a threat in GLVC Tournament, but sure could use some production from 6'4" Aiden Moxness, who played all of 6 minutes today with 2 fouls and 0 points.

[Bballfan]

Drury pretty much has to win the GLVC now to get in the NCAA tournament it looks like. And if they do, will be an 8th seed against Grand Valley most likely. Nobody in the midwest region is challenging Grand Valley this year. Might be the strongest team GV has ever had, stacked with 5th year seniors and a bench that goes 6 deep. Crazy.

[panthersclawz1]

"We had a great effort in the second half to come from 12 down to take the lead, but we couldn't get multiple stops in a row (in overtime)," said Drury head coach Kaci Bailey. "It's really hard when you have three or four players foul out and they didn't have any foul out. But T=there were a lot of little things we didn't take care of.”

Down 12 at half…the excuses and blaming officials for losses not a good look. Can’t imagine how hard it is to get beat by a school you left; however can’t say anyone is surprised. Boyd is the coach Drury should have hired instead of Bailey. But we all know she wasn’t Nylas puppet.

An interesting observation regarding your second-to-last sentence. A prominent lady panthers alumna said those exact words to me after Quincy made their hire of Boyd, post-Bailey getting the job here. She won an NAIA national championship and she’s gotten Quincy good in short order.

Two programs heading in opposite directions.

Meanwhile, the Drury men get a needed road win, but unfortunately many of their remaining chances to climb the point standings are negated by playing teams lower than them in the standings. The last two games of the season will be critical, but their season is probably already toast.

[crazznewt]

Wait, are you saying Quincy wasn't trending up when Bailey was there? Let's not forget the GLVC Tournament when Quincy missed a last second shot at an upset over that loaded Drury team with Damitz, Findley, Moore, Daniels, Schaaf and Henderson. Current Quincy studs Williams, Danzo and Dawson were a big part of Bailey's last team at Quincy.

Amy Eagan can be can also be scrutinized.Her coaching record before Drury was 164-134. Winning record, but not elite level. She worked a year under Molly and inherited one of the best rosters in Drury history in Robinson, Findley, Richards, Lynch, Parker, Winfrey and the like. Coach Miller laid that groundwork that opened the door for Addy Miller to bring in Kaylee Damitz and Jordan Mellot to bring in Terrion Moore.

Yes, Miller took Katie Scott to Arizona and tried to get Robinson to follow, but the bottom line is she left Amy a championship team. Amy took all of her recruits that she got because of her success at Drury to one of the weakest conferences in all of D1 leaving the Lady Panther program a shell of what it was. At least when she skipped out on her Truman kids last minute, she left Theo with a great roster.

This doesn't include the rumors of sanctions that ultimately didn't include the Lady Panther program. This further discouraged what players were left from returning.

I have read about poor Central Missouri coach Slifer whose program is down because 2 players transferred after last season. Kaci lost an All-American who now leads the MIAA with 12 double doubles, and another first team all conference player to graduation while trying to put this program back together during this NLI and transfer rule era.

Judging the heart behind the intent of Bailey's hire doesn't seem right.

This thin team is still among the best in the conference. King, Mendel and Gibbons are good players to build around. Five freshmen coming in next season were heavily recruited by high level D2's and some D1's. To say Drury is trending down after what Bailey started with is false

[Bballfan]

Drury is always going to have a good women's program. Too much money, outstanding facilities, and a quality school. There are a lot if bad women's programs in the GLVC, and that isn't changing. Now, competing on a national stage? It us becoming increasingly difficult to compete with the state schools that just have deeper pockets and more resources.

[crazznewt]

Drury is always going to have a good women's program. Too much money, outstanding facilities, and a quality school. There are a lot if bad women's programs in the GLVC, and that isn't changing. Now, competing on a national stage? It us becoming increasingly difficult to compete with the state schools that just have deeper pockets and more resources.

Agreed. And as you have said before, the key will be keeping the good players you develop.I will add there are also bad teams in the Ohio Valley that suck equally as bad. That is hardly a hard core proving ground for up and coming coaches.

[Bballfan]

There are a lot of very poor D1 schools. Whether in football or women's basketball or sports in general. You look at a few of them and think....they have no ability to ever compete on the national stage, why not be competitive in D2. Probably a reason why Grand Valley doesn't go D1, despite being larger than 8 or so MAC schools. And some of Grand Valley's athletic programs would definitely beat a lot of MAC schools. But then you look at some of these poor D2 schools. They have no hope. Probably a number of them should just go the NAIA route. But they are just looking for that NCAA cash to support athletics, which in turn gets athletes who in turn keep the universities doors open. Having D2 sports for all the wrong reasons!

[crazznewt]

Drury is always going to have a good women's program. Too much money, outstanding facilities, and a quality school. There are a lot if bad women's programs in the GLVC, and that isn't changing. Now, competing on a national stage? It us becoming increasingly difficult to compete with the state schools that just have deeper pockets and more resources.

Deeper pockets is correct.Spend it all and ask for more is the theme. Missouri State's athletic budget is 34 million dollars. The last figures for overall ticket sales were 1.1 million. Like Basketballmom22 said, the GSB Arena is a beautiful facility, but it wasn't needed. It is a tremendous money drain and people are refusing to pay high prices to attend games. The only time that 12,000 seat Arena is completely filled is during Winterjam, a Christian concert that charges $10 a ticket.

I'm reminded of a young married couple who always has to have the nicest car, house, and furniture, but has to "borrow" money from parents constantly.

[Bballfan]

I mean UCLA and Ohio State had athletic budget deficits. And this is before revenue sharing starts. The greed is never ending, and I have no idea how many of these small D1 schools' athletic programs are even going to survive.

[crazznewt]

I mean UCLA and Ohio State had athletic budget deficits. And this is before revenue sharing starts. The greed is never ending, and I have no idea how many of these small D1 schools' athletic programs are even going to survive.

USA Today reported that subsidies account for one-third of all spending on NCAA Division I athletics. It's time those people get a reality check.

[crazznewt]

Paige Robinson scored 16 points to help Uganda to the FIBA Zone V Championship against Egypt on their home court in Cairo.

I found this on Paige. She is getting a lot of attention in the African media
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFwMm...d3dzVzZTh0cHBk

[Bballfan]

USA Today reported that subsidies account for one-third of all spending on NCAA Division I athletics. It's time those people get a reality check.

Title IX has a lot to do with that, and rightfully so. Real concern is as these universities cuts sports (and a number of them are), then athletes who otherwise could afford school because of a scholarship will now lose out on that opportunity, just so there is more money for other sports/athletes, some of who will be millionaires when they go pro.

[crazznewt]

The only WNBA I watch is Caitlin Clark highlights. However, that may change as Clark's Indiana Fever team has undergone a roster improvement by adding all stars Dewanna Bonner and Natasha Howard. They also added former Mizzou star Sophie Cunningham. Add the possibility of an appearance of Paige Robinson on a roster will obviously make that league more interesting for Drury fans. Praying for her success.

[crazznewt]

All things considered, Bailey and staff have done a good job this season. Close losses to the top two league teams...double overtime at Quincy and at home by two points to Lewis is impressive with this thin team IMO.

Drury is now even thinner with the injury to Josie Storey. Not having a bye in the conference tournament is going to be tough for this reason. The SBU game could be tough, as a win against the Lady Panthers would make the Bearcat's season a success.

Bailey and staff have a very good recruiting class coming in next season. From what I have read, 5 have been announced and one has not. The obvious key will be keeping these players from the portal after each season.

The NCAA needs to eliminate the transfer portal before college basketball is ruined. Fans used to be able to count on watching players develop in their team's system and still be on the roster on senior day. The portal has contributed to declining attendance in a big way. Like Bball fan has said: "the rich get richer". The argument about what's best for the student athlete is just another cop out. There were enough protections for your average athlete before this garbage started.

[Bballfan]

Yep. Today it is pretty much if I don't like something I am going to take my ball and go home. Nobody wants to face and overcome adversity, because of course the grass is always greener somewhere else. There was some mid-major D1 women's programs that lost 10 players after last season. That is about 2/3rds of the whole team. Then when you add in seniors that graduate, you are pretty much replacing a whole roster. There was over 1,000 D1 players alone that hit the portal in women's bball last year. You can expect the same again. But don't really expect anything to change, so it is what it is.

Drury women have had a fine season, by most program standards, just not Drury standards. They have to win the GLVC tournament to make the NCAA. If they do that, they will have Grand Valley as a reward. Is that a reward? I guess just to get to the show.and keep the streak alive its a good thing.