OPINION |
The beat goes on for Drury University's women’s basketball team. Or should we say the beatdowns?
Drury won its 22nd game in a row Thursday night at the O’Reilly Family Event Center, 99-74 over Illinois-Springfield. The final margin was not indicative of the score as the Lady Panthers did not make a field goal in the final 6:53 as their starters watched from the sideline.
Sometimes it’s difficult to fully appreciate Drury’s success because it’s so expected. Ranked second nationally in NCAA Division II, Drury is 26-1 overall and 19-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. An eighth straight regular-season title is clinched.
“It’s crazy sometimes to think about that and you forget how good it feels to win,” Drury coach Amy Eagan said. “We have to take the opportunities in practice to really coach them hard and make them understand that we still have to get better.
“I think this group takes it really well. It’s part of the reason they’ve done what they’ve done. They want to be coached hard. They want to win, they want to grow and they want to get better.”
Just one thing has eluded Lady Panthers
Drury is 82-8 in Eagan’s third season as head coach. It has averaged 29.5 wins over the last eight seasons, been ranked in the top 10 for 87 straight weeks and spent 149 consecutive weeks in the top 25.
Only one thing has eluded the Lady Panthers and you don’t need to bring it up to them.
Yes, senior forward Alana Findley said, a national championship would be sweet. Findley and fellow senior Mia Henderson are the two remaining players from the 2019-20 team that was 32-0 and ranked No. 1 when the national tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
Findley admits she will forever wonder what might have been.
“People still bring that up all time,” Findley said. “Me and Mia are the ones who were here when that happened. It still stinks, but there’s nothing you can do about it now. We’re just hoping to get back in that same position.”
The road to the Elite Eight is treacherous
The Lady Panthers made it all the way to the national championship game in 2021, falling to Lubbock Christian. One year ago, they lost in the regional semifinals to Grand Valley State.
No matter how tremendous this season has been so far, it will seem hollow without a trip back to the final game. That hardly seems fair, but it’s the reality of the monster that is Lady Panthers basketball.
“We try not to base our success off winning a ‘natty,’ although that would be huge,” Findley said. “We’re just enjoying it and having fun, knowing that if we play our best, we have huge potential in going all the way.”
The road to the Elite Eight, where the eight regional winners gather, is tricky because D-II bases its regions on geography and not a true national seeding process like in Division I. Unfortunately, the latest D-II Midwest Region rankings include three of the nation’s top five teams: No. 1 Ashland (Ohio), No. 2 Drury and No. 5 Grand Valley State (Michigan).
So two of the nation’s top teams will be eliminated prior to the Elite Eight.
Drury's lone loss this season stings
That’s why Drury’s lone defeat this season still stings, 93 days after it happened. Ashland defeated Drury 68-67, in overtime, back on Nov. 23 at O’Reilly Family Event Center. The higher-ranked team gets to host the region, so Drury likely will be headed for Ashland in a couple of weeks. Eagan said she knew, after the early season loss, that was how it likely would play out.
“We knew at that point … anything can happen in a long season, but as we get longer into the season now … we’re expecting to go to Ashland, Ohio,” Eagan said. “It’s crazy how a one-point loss, in overtime, can affect something so much. But it can. It’s why every possession is important.
“We’re obviously gonna have to win our first game and play probably Grand Valley the second game and then Ashland in the Sweet 16 to get to the Elite Eight. It’s tough. It’s about matchups at that time of the year, about who’s playing better at that time of the year.
“It’s about who can handle the ‘hard’ at that time of the year. I think we have a good shot.”
Aggressive defense, selflessness are team strengths
Eagan said the Lady Panthers have done a great job of staying focused and not looking ahead. The focus has been sharp, evidenced by an average winning margin of 22 points in league action with only two games (both seven-point differences) decided by single-digit margins.
Along with a harassing, full-court defense that forces an average of nearly 22 steals per game, Findley said Drury’s unselfish play stands out compared to others she’s been a part of. Even though D-II Player of the Year Paige Robinson transferred to Division I Illinois State for a graduate season, where she’s perhaps the Missouri Valley Conference’s top player, Drury hasn’t missed a beat.
“I think we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and complement each other really well,” Findley said. “We just know how to play to help our teammates play better.”
Eagan agreed, calling them “the most selfless kids we’ve had, ever, from top to bottom. They just want to be coached hard and don’t care who gets the credit. That is what has made this group extra special.”
Senior Day will be emotional
One regular season game remains, at 3 p.m. Saturday against Lewis. Findley, Henderson and the team’s top two scorers, Kaylee DaMitz-Holt and Terion Moore, will be honored on Senior Day.
Keep the Kleenex box handy. Eagan admits she will need it.
“It’s gonna be hard. It’ll be tough,” Eagan said of her anticipated emotions. “This group — Mia and Alana are the first kids who technically for me have been four years with it. I’ve seen them grow and develop. Kaylee and Terion, I think they are Drury basketball and they’ve only been here two years.
“All of them, as a staff we have such a good relationship with because they are so bought in with what we are. They love being a Lady Panther.”
Then it’ll be on the postseason and the chase for that elusive national championship. Maybe even a rematch with Ashland will be in the cards.
“I would love to play Ashland again,” Findley said. “Losing by one just makes it that much worse. I would love to play them again.”
