The following "Starting Five" points offer a quick look inside GLVC women's basketball action this week:

STARTING FIVE

[1 | league play back on tap thursday & saturday]
GLVC women's basketball returns to Conference play this week, beginning Thursday, Jan. 5. Seven of the eight games on Thursday will begin at 5:30 p.m. local time, while all eight contests on Saturday afternoon tip off at 1 p.m. local. Teams will cross divisions for these matchups and are highlighted by Saturday's top-25 battle between No. 16 Lewis (11-2, 3-0) and No. 12 Drury (11-2, 3-0) in Springfield, Mo. All 16 contests will be streamed live on the GLVCSN.

[2 | wbca top-25 poll still includes three glvc teams]
Three teams represent the Great Lakes Valley Conference in the WBCA NCAA D-II Poll. Bellarmine (10-1) fell to top-ranked Ashland this past week but maintained its No. 4 spot in the poll, while both Drury (11-2) and Lewis (11-2) moved up in the rankings. Drury went from 14th to 12th, while Lewis moved one place to No. 16.

[3 | holiday break highlights]
GLVC women's basketball programs combined for a 9-6 record over the holiday break with many team and individual performances standing out as a result. Then-No. 14 Drury tallied its highest score this season, which was also the most of any team in action over the week, in a 95-75 GLVC win over Missouri S&T where five Panthers scored in double figures. Illinois Springfield's 12 blocked shots in a 69-34 win over Blackburn Dec. 31 set a program record and ranks highest in the league so far while also being the only double-digit tally for any team. William Jewell's 40 three pointers attempted in its win over Graceland Jan. 2 is the most of any league team so far in 2016-17, while reigning GLVC Player of the Week Maddie Nelson hit a milestone in the contest. The senior guard notched her 500th career rebound while also tying a career-high and Jewell single-game record for rebounds with 17. She also added a career-high 23 points for her third double-double of the year. Five others also recorded double-double efforts, while three more notched 20 points or more. Lewis' Jamie Johnson netted 31 points (Dec. 30 vs. Saginaw Valley), Southern Indiana's Kaydie Grooms went for 20 (Dec. 30 vs. Ohio Dominican) and Indianapolis' Sydney Brackemyre (Dec. 31 vs. Northwood) notched 20 as well. Finally, despite its loss to No. 1 ranked Ashland, No. 4 Bellarmine is the only team so far this season to fall in single digits against the nation's top team. Ashland had been averaging nearly a 40-point advantage per game with the lowest margin at 14 points.

[4 | overflowing the o'reilly family event center]
Drury's success so far this season has brought with it the fans who want to see firsthand. The Panthers rank fifth in the nation for attendance with an average 1,437, having accumulated 11,492 fans through eight games at "The O." What's even better than that, however, is that its percentage of fans per capacity of the facility is the best mark in all of Division II at 46.34 in the 3,100-seat venue.

[5 | glvc represented among ncaa statistical leaders]
In Monday's NCAA statistical report, many GLVC teams and student-athletes rank among the nation's best in several categories. The GLVC has moved up as the second-best shooting league among the 24 D-II conferences with a 41.99 percent behind the MIAA (43.46). The Conference's next best mark compared to the other 23 leagues is the 1,552 steals gobbled up for third most, followed by 2,520 assists dished out, which is No. 4 overall. Lewis continues its top-five reign in field-goal percentage at No. 2 with a 50.1 mark. Another hot shooting team is Drury, which ranks second, as well, in three-point field-goal percentage (40.9). In third is Southern Indiana's total of 12.9 rebound margin, while its scoring margin is sixth best in D-II at 27.6 points. Eight individuals rank among the top-10 performers in select categories, including three-point field-goal percentage where three league standouts can be found. Maryville's Ali Ringering clocks in at No. 3 (51.4) from long range, Quincy's Nikia Edom is shooting 50.0 for seventh behind the arc and USI's Kaydie Grooms in ninth with a 49.1 percent. Holding the top spot is Jewell's Maddie Nelson, who has played the most minutes per game with just shy of 39 minutes (38.70). Lewis' Jessica Kelliher is second in field-goal percentage (66.5) and sixth in field goals made (103). USI's Tanner Marcum is the seventh best in assist-turnover ratio (3.23), while Syerra Cunningham's 11.8 rebounds per game is No. 8 nationally.