HOUGHTON, Mich. - A team that loves challenges will get a tall one on Tuesday, when the third-seeded Drury Lady Panthers taken on top-seed and nationally third-ranked Michigan Tech in a 5 p.m. (CST) tipoff for the NCAA-II Midwest Regional title here.
Drury has won 10 straight to improve now to 28-6 on the season, while Michigan Tech's Huskies will bring a 30-2 record into the regional final. Tuesday's winner will advance to the NCAA-II Elite Eight March 23-26 in St. Joseph, MO.
Both teams warded off strong surges by their opponents to win semifinal games on Sunday. The Lady Panthers defeated Northern Michigan 59-51, getting six big points in the final two minutes from sophomore guard Katie Pritchard, including a 15-foot jumper that gave DU a four-point lead (55-51) with 56 seconds left.
Pritchard finished with 20 points - for the second straight game in this regional - and Lindsay Ballweg added 19 points for Drury, which made 18 of 20 free throws in the second half and 24 of 28 for the game to hold off the Wildcats. Melanie Oliver grabbed 10 rebounds, and in the process, became Drury's career rebounding leader with 802, surpassing the old mark of 793 held by former DU great Amanda Newton (2002-06).
Michigan Tech, meanwhile, saw a 15-point lead melt away in the second half before the Huskies poured it on late to defeat fifth-seeded Findlay 69-58 in the other semifinal, watched by more than 2,400 fans in the SDC Gym.
While Drury leads the nation in FG percentage and 3-point FG percentage, Michigan Tech is the nation's top free-throw shooting squad at .831 percent for the season. The Huskies went 15 for 15 at the line to help close out Findlay. Sarah Stream, a 5-7 senior guard, and Katie Wysocky, a 6-0 senior forward, had 17 points each to lead Tech.
Wysocky averages 17.8 points and 11.6 rebounds to pace the Huskies, who have four starters averaging in double-figures for a team that scores 75.3 points and allows 56.8 points per game. Michigan Tech is 17-1 at home this season, the one setback a 53-47 decision to North Michigan on January 2. The Huskies' only other loss was a 68-65 decision at Hillsdale on Feb. 20.
Tech was in Springfield back in mid-November for the Sleep Inn Classic at Weiser gym, though the Huskies did not play Drury on that trip. This is the first meeting between the programs. Tech coach John Barnes is in his seventh season with the Huskies, who finished 27-7 last season and are making their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in his tenure.
Ballweg averages 18.5 points while Pritchard adds 14.3 points and Oliver 12.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game for the Lady Panthers, who are making their fifth appearance in a regional title game. Drury advanced to the NCAA-II Elite Eight in both 2004 and 2007, the former in St. Joseph, MO, where the Lady Panthers finished as national runner-up.
Drury coach Steve Harold is 16-8 in NCAA-II Tournament games in his 15-year coaching career, including 3-2 with the Lady Panthers. Drury is making its eighth straight NCAA-II Tournament appearance and is 16-7 all-time in post-season play.
Tuesday's DU-MTU game will be shown in a free, live video webcast courtesy of Michigan Tech that's available by clicking the link below. It can also be heard on JOCK 98.7 FM (
www.jock987.com), with John Miller delivering the play-by-play call.
FREE VIDEO WEBCAST
GAME NOTES