Annie Armstrong scored 23 points to lead three in double-figures and No. 18 Drury downed 16th-ranked Quincy 76-65 in a showdown of Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division and national D-II powers Thursday night at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
Adrienne Horn added 11 points and Addy Roller had 10 points as the Lady Panthers moved to 15-3 overall and 8-2 in the GLVC with their fifth straight victory.
Quincy fell to 17-2 and 8-2.
Drury led 21-14 after one quarter and 41-32 at the half, helped by a buzzer-beating trey from Armstrong just before the break. The Lady Panthers held the Hawks to 37 percent shooting (11 of 30) in the first half and 40 percent (23 of 58) for the game, including a 4-for-14 showing (.286) from the nation's leading 3-point FG percentage team entering the contest.
"It was just a solid team effort, one through nine, and that's all I can ask for," Drury coach Molly Miller said. "Defensively, we were really good, holding the No. 1 team in the nation in 3-point shooting to 28 percent. I'm very proud of our defensive effort."
Quincy had the DU lead down to four (43-39) with 7:35 to go in the third period, but the Lady Panthers answered with an 8-2 run over the next three minutes to push the lead back to double-digits, reaching as high as 15 points (56-41) late in the quarter.
The Hawks had it down to five (60-55) with 6:03 to go, but Alice Heinzler nailed a 3-pointer on the next trip and the Lady Panthers salted away the win from there.
Armstrong also had a team-high seven rebounds for Drury, which was outrebounded 39-32. Heather Harman led the Lady Panthers with five assists.
Drury shot 48 percent (27 of 56) for the game from the field, including 7-for-20 (35 percent) from 3-point range.
"Our better days are ahead of us," Miller said. "Offensively and defensively, I thought we looked good tonight, and that's what you want at this time of the season. I think this team has more room to grow, which is exciting for a coach, for the players and the fans."
Erin Mennemeyer had 29 points and added nine rebounds to lead the Hawks, who got 14 points and 10 rebounds from Kara Gerbus.
Drury is back in action at The O' on Saturday for a 1 p.m. GLVC tipoff against Truman State on "Fieldhouse Sports Center Youth Sports Appreciation Day." Parents are admitted for free with kids 12-and-under who wear a youth sports team t-shirt or jersey, from any sport, to the game. The first 200 kids to attend the post-game autograph party will receive a free Fieldhouse/Drury Basketball drawstring backpack.
"I walked into the locker room and said, 'well, guess who Quincy's only other loss was to," Miller said, referring to Quincy's 65-62 setback at Truman State on December 14. "We've got another tough team coming in here on Saturday, so we'll have to be ready."
