SAINT CHARLES, Mo. – The women's basketball team qualified for the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament for the first time in 7 years. They drew the 2nd ranked team in the country in the Drury University Panthers. The Hawks would lead with one quarter to play, but ultimately fell by the score of 79-78.
During the opening stanza, it was a back-and-forth affair. Ultimately, the Panthers would take a 10 point lead with just over three minutes left. Emma Knipe would hit a wing 3 with 16 seconds left in the quarter to get the Hawks to within 3.
In the second quarter, QU got it to within a point on two separate occasions in the opening two minutes. Drury's lead would stay between five and eight points the majority of the quarter, before they would take a 9 point into the halftime break.
The Hawks used a 15-3 run over the first half of the third quarter to take a 55-52 lead. A Beth Matas Martin layup with under a minute to go in the quarter gave the Hawks their largest lead of the contest at 64-59.
The Panthers were not going away quietly as the two teams were tied at 66 just 43 seconds into the final stanza. Back-to-back three pointers by Matas Martin tied the game at 75 with two minutes and twenty-six seconds remaining. With Drury leading 79-78, the Hawks inbounded the ball on the sideline. Flanagan found Matas Martin who had a clean look at a 10 foot baseline jumper, which hit the front of the rim and bounced out.
Game Leaders
Beth Matas Martin: 26 points
Cymirah Williams: 17 points, 13 rebounds
