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SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— The ninth-ranked Drury Lady Panthers used an exceptional shooting afternoon to go along with strong defense, and senior Paige Robinson continued to move up the school scoring charts as they throttled McKendree 111-55 Saturday afternoon at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
With Robinson hitting for a game-high 26 points and moving into second place on the all-time school scoring list now with 1,831 career points, the Lady Panthers hit for an impressive 61 percent from the field, making 43 of 71 shots and easily turned away the Bearcats to improve to 24-3 for the season and 14-2 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
“We did a really good job with reads on ball screens on offense with our motion offense and with great passes, and I thought that was a really good area for us,” said Drury head coach Amy Eagan.
The Lady Panthers used a blistering first-half scoring explosion to put the game out of reach. After grabbing a 31-11 edge after the opening period, they dominated McKendree in the second quarter en route to a 63-25 lead at halftime.
“I think today we were active once again both on and off the ball, and that led to a lot of transition points, as you can see when we reached 111,” added Eagan.
Drury placed a total of five players in double figures on the afternoon. In addition to Robinson’s scoring outburst, the Lady Panthers got 18 points from junior Alana Findley, 15 from graduate student Kaylee DaMitz, and 10 each from graduate students Terrion Moore and Payton Richards.
Clare Breden, with 16 points, paced the Bearcat scoring as they dropped to 3-18 overall and 2-12 in GLVC action.
After forcing 31 turnovers in a Thursday night win over Southern Indiana, Drury went one better in Saturday’s decision, as the Bearcats turned the ball over 32 times.
The Lady Panthers will begin a two-game road trip next Thursday, Feb. 17th, when they travel to Romeoville, Illinois, to face Lewis in a 5:30 pm game.
