Drury Retires Amanda Newton's Number, Sweeps Bellarmine

On a day when they retired the No. 42 jersey worn by one of their greats, three-time All-America selection Amanda Newton, the Drury Lady Panthers had to come up with some late-game heroics to make sure everyone went home happy from Weiser Gym. Drury let a 25-point second half lead slip down to two points in the final minute, but came up with the plays in the end to down Bellarmine 78-70 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action Saturday before 1,639 fans at Weiser. Lindsay Ballweg scored 24 points and came up with four steals, and joined sophomore teammate Katie Pritchard in coming up with key thefts in the closing seconds, as Drury won its sixth straight to improve to 13-3 overall and a West-leading 5-0 in the GLVC. Senior Caitlin Shouse added 17 points while Pritchard and Ja'Nell Jones had 11 points each as the Lady Panthers staved off what would have been a shocking come-from-behind victory by the Knights (10-5, 3-3), who trailed 60-35 with 13:56 to go in the contest. Bellarmine cut that down to a 10-point deficit over the next seven minutes, and was within extreme striking range when Melissa Fitz hit a 3-pointer with 2:29 to go to pull Bellarmine within four (70-66). It was a two-point lead (72-70) with 55 seconds left after two Jalissa Chatlos free throws when the Lady Panthers countered with two Pritchard free throws with 22 seconds left. Drury then used a steal by Pritchard to produce two more free throws from her with 12 seconds left to make it 76-70, then iced it when Ballweg picked off a Bellarmine pass and went in for the layup with two seconds remaining for the final margin. Allison Mathies and Brittany Edelen had 16 points each to lead Bellarmine, which trailed 44-23 at halftime. After hitting 17 of 33 shots (52 percent) in the first half, the Lady Panthers cooled to 40 percent (10 of 25) in the second half to finish at 47 percent (27 of 58). Bellarmine made 63 percent of its shots (17 of 27) in the second half to fuel the run, but it wasn't enough as Drury pulled out the victory and set the stage for an emotional post-game jersey retirement ceremony for Amanda Newton Plotner. Drury's all-time leader in scoring and rebounding in her career from 2002-06 - and a standout who helped the Lady Panthers to a 122-12 record and four NCAA Tournaments in her four seasons - had several of her former teammate in the house, as well as the Republic High School girls' basketball team she now helps coach at her alma mater. She also had hundreds of adoring and loyal Lady Panther fans who also, at times, inevitably had to choke back some tears as Amanda addressed the group and thanked them, her teammates and her family. Soon, the covering on the No. 42 jersey was removed from the Weiser rafters, revealing the first retired Lady Panthers jersey in the program's 10-year history, and one that took its place alongside those of Drury men's basketball greats Charlie Crosby, Jerry Alexander, Lonnie Holmes and Matt Miller. "It's just such a tremendous honor ... I am deeply humbled," Amanda said. She was introduced by Drury Director of Athletics Pat Atwell, President Todd Parnell, Vice President for Athletic Affairs Dr. Edsel Matthews and Senior Women's Administrator Barb Cowherd, each who subscribed to the same general theme - if ever there was a Lady Panthers jersey that needed to go into the rafters first, it was Amanda Newton's. "Amanda is the epitomy of what a Drury student-athlete is all about," Matthews said.