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 // looking back at glvc openers]
Five teams began the
Conference slate unbeaten, as Truman State and McKendree went 2-0 while Drury, Southern Indiana and Lewis each won their lone league contest a week ago. Splitting their first two GLVC games were Rockhurst, Maryville, Missouri-St. Louis and Quincy, while Bellarmine (0-1), Indianapolis (0-1), Missouri S&T (0-1), William Jewell (0-2) and Illinois Springfield (0-2) will have to wait until the New Year to find the win column during the league campaign as GLVC play doesn't pick back up until the first week of January. Truman's win came against Rockhurst (73-56) and William Jewell (60-59) at home, while McKendree got both wins on the road at UMSL (72-55) and Maryville (68-47). Drury's win came against S&T (113-61), USI topped Bellarmine (77-70) and Lewis came away with the win against UIndy (73-68). The other four wins included Rockhurst at Quincy (74-67), Maryville against UIS (74-64), UMSL versus UIS (82-54) and Quincy over Jewell (58-49).
[2 // a return to non-conference action]
After all 14 teams opened GLVC play last week, 12 are
back to non-conference play this week with 17 games on the docket. Rockhurst and Missouri S&T are the only two idle, as the Hawks next contest is set for Dec. 10 and the Miners don't play again until the 18th. Illinois Springfield, however, kicked off the week at Division I SEMO Tuesday morning in an exhibition, losing 82-46. Drury was also on the road for a 92-63 win at Arkansas Fort Smith and Southern Indiana hosted Lindenwood-Belleville for a 75-42 win, while Quincy dropped a close one against visiting Culver-Stockton 67-71. On Wednesday, Truman State and McKendree both welcome non-league foes, and Missouri-St. Louis will do the same on Friday. Saturday sees seven more matchups with Jewell, Lewis, Maryville and UIS hosting and streaming on GLVCSN and Indianapolis, McKendree and Bellarmine on the road. The Knights will face D-I Western Kentucky that day, while UMSL will close out the week on Sunday at another D-I foe in UMKC.
[3 // three represented in wbca national poll]
Drury jumped up two places in the most recent
Women's Basketball Coaches Association Poll from No. 8 to No. 6, as the Panthers remained unbeaten at 8-0 with two wins last week, including a 113-61 league-opener result over Missouri S&T. Lewis has won its last six games, including a 73-68 win over UIndy in its league opener a week ago, and improved in the poll from 24th to 22nd. Rounding out the GLVC contingent is Truman State (8-1), which continues to receive points outside the top group after beginning the league slate 2-0 with wins over Rockhurst (73-56) and William Jewell (60-59) last week.
[4 // player of the week]
Drury freshman Paige Robinson was named the most recent
GLVC Player of the Week after averaging 19.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 blocks per game in two wins last week, including 113-61 win in the Panthers league opener against Missouri S&T. They also defeated Rogers State 88-46 earlier in the week. In those two contests, Robinson shot 52% (13-of-25) from the field, 46% (6-of-13) from long range, and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line. Against RSU, she scored 23 points, shooting 55% (6-of-11) with five rebounds, a career-high four steals and two blocks, and one assist. In the win over the Miners, she tallied 16 points with four boards, three steals, and two assists. All of that en route to her first career weekly award.
[5 // ncaa stat leaders]
In the most recent statistical report published by the NCAA on Dec. 3, several GLVC teams and individuals rank among the nation's top 10 in select categories. On the team side, Drury leads the nation in six different categories, including assists per game (22.0), steals (142), steals per game (17.8), turnover margin (13.63), turnovers forced (31.88), and won-lost percentage (100.0, 8-0). The Panthers are also second in assists (176) while fourth in scoring margin (30.1) and fifth in scoring offense (87.5). Bellarmine ranks among the best in Division II in a pair of categories with its 13.8 steals per game (fifth) and 25.00 turnovers forced (ninth), while Truman State also has top-10 marks for free throws made (144, fourth) and three-point field goals attempted (215, seventh). Individually, Drury has two team members in the ranks, as Daejah Bernard is tied for second with 31 steals and tied for sixth with 3.88 steals per game, while teammate Lauren Holmes is tied for fifth with 27 steals. Lewis' Jessica Kelliher has two top-10 marks for free throw attempts (56) and free throws made (44), which respectively rank tied for 10th and eighth. Two other league standouts respectively come in at third and 10th in Quincy's Michaela Gronewold (.600 3FG%, 18-of-30) and Bellarmine's Liza Tibbs (.660 FG%, 33-of-50).