KIRKSVILLE, Mo.— Truman State’s Ellie Weltha hit two free throws with 1.4 seconds left as the Bulldogs edged number one ranked Drury, 67-66, in Kirksville, Missouri, on Monday night.
The loss snapped Drury’s 14-game winning streak and dropped them to 18-2 and 8-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. It was the Lady Panthers first loss on the road in 41 games snapping the longest road winning streak in NCAA-II women’s basketball. Drury was without last year’s NCAA-II and GLVC Player of the Year, Paige Robinson, who missed her seventh straight game with an injured hand and wrist, and starting guard Kaylee DaMitz, who missed her third game in a row in COVID protocol.
Truman State won their eighth straight contest as they improved to 11-5 and 7-1 in the league.
The Bulldogs never led until Weltha’s free throws in the final seconds. Drury had a chance to win the game with 1.4 on the clock, but Terrion Moore’s top-of-the-key jumper at the buzzer fell short.
The Lady Panthers started strong as they hit 11 of their first 14 shots to claim a 24-14 lead after the first quarter. Truman State trimmed the Drury lead to seven by halftime, though, 39-32. Leading 58-50 after three quarters, Drury connected on just 3 of 14 attempts from the field in the fourth period as the Bulldogs rallied to take the lead on free throws down the stretch.
Truman State owned a 37-18 rebounding advantage, and it was an offensive board by Weltha in the final seconds that set up a Drury foul and the winning free throws with 1.4 seconds left.
Terrion Moore had 12 points for Drury, as did Alana Findley, who fouled out with 59 seconds remaining. Payton Richards added 10 points for the Lady Panthers.
Weltha finished the game with 19 points and 16 rebounds, while teammate Allison Thomas also produced a double-double with 19 points and 10 boards.
The scoring difference in the contest came from the free-throw line where the Lady Panthers only had nine attempts and made six, while Truman State went 19 for 24 from the stripe to win by one.
Drury shot 52 percent from the field in the game, going 29 for 56, but went just 2 for 10 from three-point range. The Bulldogs were also 2 for 10 from long-range but made 23 of their 53 shots from the field for 43 percent.
The win was Truman State’s first-ever over the Lady Panthers. Drury had won the previous 18 meetings between the two teams.
The Lady Panthers are back at home on Saturday when they host Southwest Baptist for a 1 pm game at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
#allweDUiswin
