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 // basketball is back]
Both Lewis and Bellarmine earned non-conference wins to end the
2018 GLVC women’s basketball slate on a high note Dec. 31, while Jan 3 and 5 saw the return of Conference action as 13 games were contested Thursday and Saturday. Then-No. 4 Drury remained undefeated, beating William Jewell and Rockhurst on the road, while then-No. 20 Lewis beat then-No. 24 Truman State and Quincy with ease, 86-56 and 91-39, respectively. Also beginning the New Year with two wins in St. Louis was Southern Indiana, defeating Maryville, 84-77, and Missouri-St. Louis, 62-60. Splitting the week was Truman (73-51 W at Indianapolis), Maryville (92-81 W vs. Bellarmine), Quincy (67-59 W at UIndy), Bellarmine (54-50 W at UMSL), Missouri S&T (77-75 W at Rockhurst), and William Jewell (78-63 W vs. S&T). Additionally, Illinois Springfield had just one game and beat McKendree, 84-73.
[2 // another week another round of glvc action]
One non-conference game
began the week on Tuesday before GLVC action returns to the court Thursday and Saturday with six and seven games, respectively. Lewis welcomed Central State to open the week, earning a 101-91 victory, as Jessica Kelliher carried the Flyers with 38 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. Headlining the first six league contests on Thursday will be Truman State's (3-1) visit to Southern Indiana (3-0), as USI is tied for first place in the current standings and Truman follows close behind in fourth. Saturday's feature will pit No. 17 Lewis at No. 3 Drury in a top-25 battle, both of which are unbeaten in Conference action and on respective 11- and 13-game win streaks while also tied atop the standings.
[3 // three glvc teams repped in wbca top 25 poll]
Still undefeated, Drury (13-0, 3-0 GLVC) moved up in the
WBCA Coaches Poll to No. 3 from No. 4 after a pair of wins over William Jewell and Rockhurst in GLVC action last week to open the New Year. Lewis (11-1, 3-0), unbeaten in its last 11 games, improved from 20th to 17th in the poll thanks to two convincing league wins of its own over then-No. 24 Truman State and Quincy, holding them to 56 and 39 points respectively. Truman (12-2, 3-1) earned a win over Indianapolis but was beaten by the then-No. 20 Flyers a week ago, likely causing its fall out of the top 25. The Bulldogs did, however, continue to receive votes with 25 outside the top list, as it has the previous four releases, dating back to Nov. 27 when it first appeared.
[4 // player of the week]
Illinois Springfield’s Jasmine Sangster had a career night in last week’s 84-73 win over McKendree, scoring 33 points on 11-of-16 (.690) shooting. She was 3-of-5 (.600) from beyond the arc and a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line. The junior added five rebounds, two assists and two steals for her first career
GLVC weekly award and the first Prairie Star in almost a year to be recognized. Additionally, the guard hit a buzzer-beater before halftime from half court and, in just 27 minutes of action, tallied the most points for UIS since Meredith Marti dropped 36 on Dec. 10, 2014.
[5 // ncaa stat leaders]
In the most recent statistical report published by the NCAA through games of Jan. 8, several GLVC teams and individuals rank among the nation's top 10 in select categories. Drury leads the way with 12 top-10 stats, including six that rank the highest in Division II. Those six are as follows: won-loss percentage (100.0, 13-0), turnovers forced (30.77), turnover margin (14.38), steals (226), steals per game (17.4), and assists per game (22.0). The Panthers’ mark for scoring margin ranks second at 30.2, while their scoring offense (86.0) clocks in at fifth best and total assists (286) is second. Drury’s 39.3 three-point field-goal percentage is ninth best, while its 1.34 assist-turnover ratio (9th) and 47.4 field-goal percentage rank ninth. Lewis is fourth in field-goal percentage at 49.3, Missouri S&T’s 5.3 blocked shots per game is ninth in the nation, and Truman State ranks 10th with 230 free throws made. Drury’s Daejah Bernard, Hailey Diestelkamp and Paige Robinson rank among the 10 best, which include Bernard’s 52 steals (first), 4.00 steals per game (second), 81 assists (seventh), and 6.2 assists per game (seventh), Robinson’s 49.4 three-point field-goal percentage (sixth), and Diestelkamp’s 105 field goals made (10th). Lewis’ Jessica Kelliher has three top-10 marks, including a 66.3 field-goal percentage (fourth), 118 field goals made (fifth), and 23.7 points per game (ninth). Additionally, Quincy’s Michaela Gronewold maintains the best mark in Division II for three-point field-goal percentage at 55.8 (24-of-43).
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF THE GLVC
Throughout the 2018-19 academic year, the GLVC will celebrate its 40th anniversary by recognizing 40 teams that made a significant impact both on campus and at the Conference level. So far, two women’s basketball programs have already been recognized and are featured below. For a complete list of the GLVC’s 40th anniversary campaign,
click here.