Drury men, women capture conference basketball titles
It was a sweep for Drury in Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament title games Sunday.
The men’s team knocked off Bellarmine, the No. 2 team in NCAA Division II, 77-70 in the championship game. The top-seeded women’s team came back from an 18-point deficit in the second half and beat Southern Indiana 68-65 for the title.
Junior guard Kameron Bundy, who was chosen the most valuable player of the men’s tournament, scored 27 points for the Panthers on Sunday.
“Congratulations to our guys,” Drury coach Steve Hesser said. “I don’t think anybody would have been betting on us coming up here, playing the first two nights and winning in dramatic fashion in overtime, then beating an outstanding Bellarmine team.”
Drury’s Sanayika Shields sat all but 5 minutes in the opening half of the women’s final after picking up two fouls, but she finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three steals and received the tournament’s most valuable player award.
“It’s a great day to be a Panther,” Drury coach Molly Miller said. “With the guys and girls getting back-to-back championships like this, it’s something special.”
JCCC women in national tourney
The Johnson County Community College women’s basketball team has qualified for the national junior college tournament, which it will play host to March 17-21.
The Cavaliers, ranked fourth in NJCAA Division II, beat No. 7 Kansas City Kansas 70-51 on Saturday in Wichita in the Region VI championship. Johnson County, which improved to 30-2, has won 30 games in six consecutive seasons under coach Ben Conrad, a Kansas Jayhawk Conference record.
Heart women’s title game set
Top-seeded and host MidAmerica Nazarene will play in its fourth consecutive Heart of America Athletic Conference women’s basketball title game Monday, facing No. 2 seed Benedictine.
The Pioneers and Ravens will tip off at 7 p.m. Monday in Olathe for an automatic berth in the NAIA Division I women’s tournament, which will be played March 18-24 at the Independence Events Center.
MidAmerica Nazarene advanced to the final with an 80-61 home win over fourth-seeded Culver-Stockton on Saturday. Benedictine reached its first Heart title game since 2009 with a 57-55 home win over No. 3 seed Baker, which missed a game-tying attempt as time expired.
Benedictine upset in Heart men’s tourney
Benedictine will have to wait until Wednesday to see if it receives an at-large bid to the NAIA Division I men’s basketball tournament. The second-seeded Ravens, ranked 16th in the country, were upset 69-65 by No. 3 seed Missouri Valley in a Heart of America Athletic Conference semifinal on Saturday in Atchison, Kan.
Missouri Valley will face top-seeded Evangel at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Springfield for the Heart title and an automatic berth in the NAIA Tournament, which runs March 18-24 at Municipal Auditorium. Evangel, ranked 22nd, beat No. 5 seed Peru State 98-89 on Saturday at home.
This story was originally published March 8, 2015 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Drury men, women capture conference basketball titles."