Championship Central |
Final Bracket
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – No. 1 seed and top-ranked Drury University captured the 2019 Great Lakes Valley Conference Women's Basketball Championship crown on Sunday with a 94-48 victory over No. 6 seed Bellarmine University at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois.
The Panthers won their third consecutive title and sixth overall. With the victory, Drury (31-0) earned the Conference's automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Division II national tournament, as the 64-team field will be revealed later this evening at 10 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
Drury junior forward, Hailey Diestelkamp, who was named to the All-Tournament Team and repeated as the Most Outstanding Player, chipped in a game-high 28 points and eight rebounds in the win.
Drury junior guard Daejah Bernard and freshman guard Paige Robinson joined Diestelkamp on the All-Tournament Team, while Bellarmine sophomore guard Breia Torrens and Lewis senior forward and GLVC Player of the Year Jessica Kelliher were also voted to the postseason squad.
The Panthers 31-straight wins set a program record in consecutive wins, and they became the first team in GLVC history to win three-straight tournament championships as well as complete an undefeated Conference regular season to go with a postseason crown. Bellarmine was held to 14-of-55 (25.5) from the field and falls to 17-12 on the season.