The seventh-ranked Drury Lady Panthers saw their 27-point lead chopped all the way to a single digit, but they hung on for a 63-60 win over Notre Dame (Ohio) on Sunday in the Oahu Christmas Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The win was Drury’s ninth straight and raised their record to 11-1. The Falcons fell to 8-4.
Drury overcame a slow start that had them trailing 14-9 at the end of the first period. They responded by outscoring Notre Dame 27-7 in the second quarter and kept that momentum to build a 27-point lead, 52-25, with 4:11 remaining in the third.
The Falcons then chipped away and a three-pointer by Marisa Finazzo with 38 seconds left in regulation brought Notre Dame within one, 61-60.
Heather Harman’s lay-up with nine seconds to go gave Drury a three-point advantage, and the Lady Panthers hung on as the Falcons long-range attempt to tie the game came up well short of the basket.
“It was a good win, but it’s disappointing that we can’t put teams away,” said Drury head coach Molly Miller. “Teams that win championships dominate. It’s something we talked about before we came out here and we seem to get a big lead and just let up.
“Give Notre Dame a lot of credit, though. They went down with a fight.”
Harman finished the game with a game-high 16 points. The senior from Walnut Grove also led the team with six rebounds. The 16 points she scored on Sunday leaves her just one point shy of 1,000 career points.
Lucia Fernandez added 10 points, and Hailey Diestelkamp had six steals for the Lady Panthers.
No one from Notre Dame scored in double-figures.
Drury’s 63 points were a season-low. The Lady Panthers had been averaging 79 points per game.
“We squeaked it out because we’re a good team and we have veteran leadership,” said Miller. “We have to win games with our defense and the 31 turnovers we forced is why we won.”
The Lady Panthers will be idle until Jan. 6 when they host 17th ranked Southern Indiana. Game time is 1 p.m. at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
