The number two-ranked Drury Lady Panthers advanced to the NCAA Division-II Elite Eight Monday night with a win over Ashland.
The Elite Eight starts next Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.
NEXT STOP ➡️ COLUMBUS‼️ The @DULadyPanthers are headed to the Elite 8! #D2WBB #ELITE8 🏀🏆 pic.twitter.com/tshFoJB0M9
— Drury Panthers (@drurypanthers) March 16, 2021
Press Release
The Drury Lady Panthers, ranked number two nationally, are headed to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the fifth time in program history, after a dominating 88-69 victory over the Ashland Eagles in the championship game of the Midwest Regional, Monday night at the O’Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield, Missouri.
Seeded second in the regional, the Lady Panthers had waited three years for the chance to again face the fifth-seeded Eagles in the national tournament, and they made the most of the opportunity.
Junior Paige Robinson, the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player-of-the-Year, was on her game from the opening tip leading the Lady Panthers in scoring with 21 points. She also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and was named the regional tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Drury displayed a team-on-a-mission intensity from start to finish, making amends for consecutive losses to Ashland in both the 2017 and 2018 national tournament
“I knew we had a possibility of being pretty good this year,” said Drury head coach Amy Eagan. “We lost a lot of talent from last year, but this group took on the challenge and stepped up when they had to.”
The Lady Panthers placed four players in double figures, with seniors Payton Richards and Azia Lynch dropping in 18 and 13, respectively, while sophomore Alana Findley added 10 off the bench.
Ashland, who finished their season at 16-9, was paced in scoring by Annie Roshak with 22 points.
Drury ended the night hitting on 36 of 60 shots from the field for sixty percent and drained 6 of 12 from three-point range.
Defensively, the Lady Panthers forced Ashland into 18 turnovers while committing just nine on the night. The Eagles held a 28-26 edge in rebounding.
“They executed our game plan really well,” added Eagan. “We’re so defensive-minded, and the kids know, at some point, they’re gonna flip that switch, and especially in big-time situations like tonight, they were able to do it again.”
Robinson was joined on the All-Regional Tournament team by teammates Lynch and senior Emily Parker. Ashland was represented by Roshak and Karlee Pireu as all-tournament selections.
Now 22-1 on the season and collectively 54-1 over the past two seasons, Drury advances to the Elite Eight, which will be contested March 23-26th in Columbus, Ohio. The NCAA will announce the pairings and game times for the Elite Eight later this week.
