ROLLA, Mo.—The number one ranked Drury Lady Panthers pulled away from Missouri S&T in the second quarter and rolled to a 97-76 win over the Lady Miners in Rolla, Missouri, on Saturday.
Drury kept their record perfect improving to 16-0 and 7-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference while Missouri S&T fell to 6-8 and 2-5 in the league.
Leading 22-19, the Lady Panthers opened the second period on an 8-0 run on their way to outscoring the Lady Miners 32-13 in the quarter and took a 54-32 advantage at halftime. Drury made 14 of their 19 shot attempts in the second period and didn’t cool off in the third connecting on 11 of 21 field goals to lead by as much as 30 late in the quarter.
“Our rotations defensively were quicker (in the second quarter), and that turned defense into offense for us,” said Drury head coach Molly Miller. “We hit some inside-out three’s, and then Hailey (Diestelkamp) was lethal again today, especially from mid-range.”
Diestelkamp nearly had her third straight double-double as she poured in 22 points on 10 of 16 shooting from the field and added nine rebounds. The senior from Owensville also added four assists and three steals. The reigning NCAA-II Player of the Year was coming off a 27-point, 11-rebound effort at Maryville on Thursday and a 37-point, 10-rebound game a week ago against Lindenwood.
The Lady Panthers had five players in double-figures as Paige Robsinson, and Azia Lynch had 15 points, while Emily Parker scored 12, and Kelsey Winfrey added 11.
“When Parker and Azia have the types of games that they did, it opened things up, and it’s harder to cover Hailey one-on-one,” added Miller. “It even created some offensive rebound opportunities. When we can work off of each other like that, it’s a dangerous combination to have five offensive threats on the floor.”
Drury finished the game shooting 53 percent hitting 41 of their 77 attempts. They grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and owned a 37-29 advantage overall on the glass.
Missouri S&T was led by Laura Rodriguez, who finished with 13 points.
The Lady Panthers play their third straight road game on Monday as they travel to Bolivar to take on Southwest Baptist for a 5:30 pm game.
