Lindenwood women's basketball opens up the 2020-21 regular season against Drury on Sunday, Nov. 29 at 1:00 p.m. in Hyland Arena.

THINGS TO WATCH FOR
Lindenwood enters the 2020-21 season off of a 19-9 (14-6 GLVC) campaign last season. Entering the 2020-21 season, the Lions are ranked No. 2 in the GLVC Central Division entering the season, as voted on by the coaches.

Head coach Katie Falco is looking to secure her first-career victory against Drury at the helm of Lindenwood women's basketball. The last two seasons, Lindenwood has begun the season 4-0 (2018-19), and 5-0 (2019-20) under Falco. Last season, Lindenwood won its first two GLVC matchups of the season, in its first year playing in the conference.

The Lions are returning three players who received 20 or more starts last season (Devin Fuhring, Julia Ruzevich, and Kate Ruzevich). Hennessey Handy started all nine games she appeared in, prior to suffering an injury.

In the final game of last season, against Drury in the GLVC Tournament, Julia Ruzevich scored 17 points and brought in 10 rebounds for her first-career double-double. Jamie Bain scored 13 points in that game against Drury, which was her third-highest scoring output last year.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES
In the all-time series between the two teams, the Lions are 0-4 against the Panthers. Under head coach Katie Falco, the Lions are 0-3 against Drury. The two teams have not faced off in Hyland Arena.

The last matchup between the two teams came on March 7, 2020, as Lindenwood fell to Drury, 89-67. In the first contest between the Lions and Panthers in the 2019-20 season, Lindenwood scored 84 points against the opposition. In the four games against Drury in the series history, the Lions have scored a total of 243 points, averaging 60.8 points per game.

LAST SEASON AGAINST DRURY
The two teams squared off twice in the 2019-20 season, once in the regular season, and once in the GLVC Tournament. They were also set to play in the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament, prior to its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Devin Fuhring is the leading-returning scorer from last season against Drury. She put up 20 points in the contest on Jan. 11, 2020. During the 2019-20 season, Fuhring scored 29 total points in two games against the Panthers. Jamie Bain finished with 10 points, her second-career double-digit scoring effort, in the Jan. 11 game at Drury.

Facing off against Drury in the GLVC Tournament, Julia Ruzevich (17) and Bain (13) combined for 30 points. Ruzevich also finished with 10 rebounds, for her first-career double-double. Lindenwood outrebounded Drury, 29-28, in the last meeting between the conference foes.

A VETERAN PRESENCE
The Lions welcome back three players (Devin Fuhring, Julia Ruzevich, and Kate Ruzevich) who made double-digit starts against conference foes last season. Lindenwood will return seven players who played in 10 or more games against GLVC opponents.

Devin Fuhring is the leading returning scorer against GLVC opponents, while Hennessey Handy (10.3) and Julia Ruzevich also averaged double-digits (10.1) against conference rivals.

OPENING UP THE SEASON
The team has opened up both of the last two seasons with wins. In 2018-19, the team won, 70-51, over Arkansas-Monticello. Last season, they secured an 83-78 victory against Pittsburg State.

Hennessey Handy (14) and Julia Ruzevich (18) each scored in double figures in last season's opening win.

SUCCESS UNDER COACH FALCO
After her first two seasons at the helm of the Lindenwood women's basketball program, Katie Falco owns the top winning percentage of any head coach in Lions history (.702).

Under Falco, the Lions have had six different winning streaks of at least three games. The longest winning streak with Falco as the head coach, was seven games in the 2018-19 season.

The team has only played twice on a Sunday with Falco at the lead of the team. In those two games, the Lions are 2-0.

The Lions are 35-5 when they score 70 or more points in a game under Falco. The team is 18-2 when they score 70-79 points.

FOLLOW ALONG
Fans will not be permitted to attend any Lindenwood women's basketball games through the end of December. To follow along with the Lions, check out the live video or live stream feeds which are listed above.

UP NEXT
The Lions will travel to take on Maryville on the road on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m.