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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – It was Senior Night for the fifth-ranked Drury Lady Panthers Thursday evening at the O’Reilly Family Event Center, and the seniors played up to the billing. Heather Harman and Alice Heinzler paced Drury to their 25th victory of the season in an 85-64 Great Lakes Valley Conference runaway against the Rockhurst Hawks.
Harman ended her home career with 25 points on 8 of 14 shooting, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range, while Heinzler wrapped up her stint at OFEC with 17 points as the Lady Panthers (25-2, 16-1 in GLVC) made it 10 wins in a row.
“I think their performance tonight was indicative of how they’ve carried us in every game they’ve played from year one to now,” said Drury head coach Molly Miller. “I’m very proud of their growth but more proud of the people they’ve become.”
The Lady Panthers held a 44-31 halftime edge on the Hawks as Harman poured in 16 points. Morgan Harwood kept the visitors close the opening two periods as she hit for 17 before intermission.
After a sluggish start to the 3rd quarter, the Lady Panthers pulled away from Rockhurst, grabbing a 22-point cushion at 60-38 and ultimately held a 27-point lead midway through the final period, again with the seniors leading the charge.
“I think these two seniors aren’t ready for their careers to be over and we’ll ride their coattails the rest of the way,” added Miller.
Backing the scoring of Harman and Heinzler was sophomore Hailey Diestelkamp who had 20 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Junior Lucia Fernandez chipped in with 9 points to go with five boards.
Drury collected a total of 17 steals on the evening while forcing the Hawks into 26 turnovers. The teams were even in rebounding, finishing with 33 each.
Harwood finished with 23 points to pace the Hawks (10-15, 6-11 in GLVC).
The Lady Panthers hit the road to conclude the regular season, playing at William Jewell, Saturday at 1 pm.
