Emily Parker adjusted her mask as her coach looked down and patted her on the back. She fought back tears as her time in a Lady Panthers uniform came to an end.
She and the rest of the Lady Panthers came up short in the national championship — but they proved to play with the hearts of champions.
"It meant everything to me," Parker said of her career in a Drury uniform. "We're really tough. I'm just honored to wear this name on my chest and play with these people."
Appearing in the program's second-ever Division II national championship, Drury came up short in a 69-59 loss to Lubbock Christian on Friday night in Columbus Ohio.