Bolivar, Mo. – The SBU women's basketball is set to host their rivals the Drury Panthers tomorrow evening Thursday, January 26^th. The game will take place in the Meyer Center with a scheduled tipoff of 5:30 PM.
 
For the first time since the 2018-19 season this will be the one and only meeting between these two rivaled programs in the regular season. When they Bearcats joined the GLVC in 2019, them and the Panthers were in the same conference forcing them to play twice a year. With only 13 teams in the conference this year, scheduling worked out to only one game between these two programs, reigniting the I-13 rivalry.
 
The Panther women have been a dangerous program for many years as this is their 145th straight week ranked top 25 in the Nation. They come in with an 18-1 record and currently ranked #2 in the nation, according to the WBCA poll. Their one and only loss came against Ashland University, who is undefeated and #1 in the Nation. The Panthers lead the conference seven statistical categories and are also top 5 in the Nation in three.
 
On the other end of the court, the Bearcat ladies have been getting into form winning three out of their last five games. They come in with a record of 10-9 and a 4-7 conference record, currently in 10^th. They have been sticking to their defensive prowess holding opponents to only 61 points per game this season, 2^nd in the conference. As of late, they have sparked their offense increasing their shooting percentage of 2% the past five games. That increase in efficiency to go along with strong defense and top rebounding has given them the edge they needed to pick up wins.
 
Tori Hamilton and Kelsey Blakemore have been standouts for the Bearcats the past few games each averaging double digit scoring. Hamilton is one of the most efficient players in the Nation shooting 62% from the field, averaging 9 PPG and 6 RPG while only playing 17 minutes per game. She leads the entire conference in shooting percentage by nearly 5% and is tied for first in blocks per game. Blakemore has been on a roll averaging over 14 points her last five games shooting 43% from the field. On Saturday, she picked up her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She was only one assist away from a triple-double.