“We can feel it.”
That was as far as Drury University’s Hailey Diestelkamp would go on Tuesday night in looking into the championship crystal ball of NCAA Division II women’s basketball.
But, she warned in the news conference that the Lady Panthers couldn’t overlook the teams that still stood in their way in the Elite 8 at Columbus, Ohio.
She was right. Their perfect season and title dreams came to an end with a 69-60 loss to fifth-seeded Lubbock Christian in the semifinals on Thursday night.
Top-seeded Drury fell behind by 15 points late in the third quarter but rallied to within five twice in the fourth quarter, once on a free throw by Diestelkamp with 5:29 left, then on a jumper by Daejah Bernard with 2:24 left.