SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Freshman Bethanie Funderburk scored 25 points to lead three in double-figures and the Drury Lady Panthers rolled over Rockhurst 77-42 before 2,038 fans in the Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season finale at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
The Lady Panthers improved to 18-8 overall and finished 14-4 in the GLVC as co-champions of the West Division, the fifth time in six years as a league member Drury has won or shared the West title.
Drury will enter next week's GLVC Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will play host to No. 10 seed Saint Joseph's in a first-round game to tip off at 1 p.m. at the O'Reilly Center. Tickets are available now at www.drurytickets.com or by calling (417) 873-6389.
Junior post Erica Groose went 6-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-4 at the line and added a season-high 15 points to go with a team-high nine rebounds, while senior guard Ja'Nell Jones added 13 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Lady Panthers, who built a 46-18 halftime lead over the Hawks.
Senior Day was made complete when senior Rachelle Spaulding - who got her first career start in the contest - scored her first points of the season on a layup in the closing seconds.
Spaulding started the year as a volunteer coach, a role she'd also filled last season after playing two years with the Lady Panthers before that, but returned to an active player role in early December when injuries left the DU bench thin.
Spaulding and Jones were honored in post-game Senior Day festivities. With 13 points, Jones moved to 989 for her four-year DU career, closing in on the 1,000-point mark.
"I can't say enough about those two seniors and how special they are to me," Drury coach Steve Harold said. "They've both been such a key to the turnaround for this team this season after we lost Katie Pritchard and started 1-4. They continued to believe in what we were doing, and their actions helped make the rest of these young kids believe. They are two very special kids and forever will be to me."
With Groose leading the way, Drury outrebounded the Hawks 41-36, and held Rockhurst to 29 percent shooting from the field (14 of 49) as the Hawks finished 4-22 and 0-18 with their 21st consecutive loss to the Lady Panthers in the all-time series.
Megan Cook and Chrissy Sarcone led the Hawks with seven points each.
Funderburk also had four of Drury's 13 steals.
Saturday's game with Saint Joseph's will be a rematch at the O'Reilly Center from their December 4 regular season meeting, when the Lady Panthers won 92-63. Winners of the first-round games will advance to Maryville University in St. Louis for the quarterfinals through finals Friday through Sunday, March 4-6.
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