The following "Starting Five" points offer a quick look inside GLVC women's basketball action this week:
GLVC SPORTS NETWORK (GLVCSN): All GLVC home games are available for free on GLVCSN.com, the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile apps, and GLVCSN OTT apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV.
[1 // beginning of a long week]
Divisional action
kicked off the week for GLVC women's basketball Monday, as top teams from each division met on the MLK holiday. McKendree got a big win at Central Division leader Illinois Springfield, 69-65, to move into the Point Rating System top-8, while then-No. 8 Drury took over the PRS top spot with its win at Truman State, 57-46. Then-No. 22 Southern Indiana and Lewis each got wins to remain in the PRS top-5, beating Bellarmine 67-59 and UW-Parkside 87-51, respectively. Elsewhere, Quincy scored a 75-73 road win over Maryville, while the only home team to get a win was Missouri S&T with a 64-59 result against William Jewell. Cross-divisional play will resume Thursday and Saturday, as all games this week can be seen live and free on every GLVCSN platform, including GLVCSN.com, GLVCSN iOS/Android mobile apps, and GLVCSN OTT apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV.
[2 // milestones met]
Most recently, Missouri S&T’s 64-59 win over William Jewell Monday gave head coach Alan Eads his 200th win with the Miners and is now just two away from his 400th career victory. Two days prior, Chancellor Dugan won her 100th career game at Bellarmine with a 93-65 victory at UW-Parkside. The first milestone surpassed in 2017-18, however, was accomplished by Bellarmine’s Raven Merriweather, who became the 28th member to join the 1,000-point club on Nov. 26 against Grand Valley State. Following suit was Quincy’s Anika Webster, as she became the 23rd player in QU history to score her 1,000th point on Dec. 7 against Drury. On Dec. 18, Indianapolis’ Martha Burse scored her 1,000th collegiate point against Ashland, which includes her two years spent at IUPUI before UIndy. Maryville’s Ali Ringering got 1,000 on Jan. 4 at Bellarmine, while Jan. 6 against Southern Indiana saw Drury’s Heather Harman net 1,000 points, becoming the 15th player in program history to surpass the milestone. Many more are on milestone watch, including Drury head coach Molly Miller, who needs three more wins to reach 100, while Missouri-St. Louis’ Jordan Fletcher is just two points away from hitting 1,000. Illinois Springfield’s Shelbi Patterson needs another 35 points to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau, while S&T’s Janie Arand is 60 away from accomplishing that same feat.
[3 // drury, usi rise in wbca poll]
Drury and Southern Indiana rose in the latest installment of the NCAA Division II
WBCA Top 25 Poll, it was announced Jan. 26. No. 6 Drury (14-1) played just one league game last week, defeating Missouri S&T, 82-51, three days after a 93-63 non-conference win over Lane. After three weeks at the No. 8 spot, the Panthers finally moved the needle up two places. Southern Indiana (12-2) played only one game last week, beating Indianapolis 71-58 to gain back one spot in the poll, moving up from No. 22 to No. 21.
[4 // first weekly honor in four years]
Illinois Springfield senior forward Destiny Ramsey picked up her first career and the program’s first
GLVC Player of the Week award since 2014 when Megan Bergerud collected honors March 3. Ramsey recorded her fourth double-double of the season and also averaged a double with her 18.5 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game in two league wins over Quincy and Missouri-St. Louis. Additionally, UIS was the only team last week to pick up a win over a top-eight GLVC Point Rating System team when it defeated UMSL 69-65, as Ramsey shot 67% (8-for-12). Her best performance came in the 81-64 win over Quincy where she scored 19 points and grabbed 15 boards.
[5 // best in the nation]
For the first time since the first NCAA statistical report was released on Nov. 12, 2017, the GLVC does not have a team that ranks atop any categories; however, there are still three in the top-five and seven in the top-10. This includes UW-Parkside in second for three-point field goals attempted (531), while its 157 made is No. 8. Illinois Springfield’s blocked-shots-per-game mark dropped out of the top spot for the first time since it grabbed the title on Nov. 13, and the Prairie Stars are now ranked third with 6.2 while fifth for total blocks with 93. Maryville has continued to control the ball and ranks sixth in fewest turnovers (181), while Drury is ninth for turnovers forced (23.94). The Panthers also came in at No. 8 for its 93.8 won-loss percentage. On the individual side of the coin, Indianapolis senior Martha Burse is tops for steals (68), steals per game (4.00) and field goal attempts (336). Lewis junior Jessica Kelliher is the country’s leader with her 177 field goals, while five more are in the top-10. A complete list of stats and rankings can be found on
NCAA.org.