INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Drury freshman Hailey Diestelkamp hit two free throws with 12 seconds left, then followed with a steal moments later that helped give the Lady Panthers a 76-74 win on the road at the University of Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon.
The win raised the 12th ranked Lady Panthers record to 15-2 and 7-0 in Great Lakes Valley Conference. Their 7-0 league start matches their best start in conference play since their 19-0 GLVC season in 2005-06. Indianapolis dropped to 10-6 and 4-2 in the conference.
Saturday’s game saw the lead change three times in the final 1:13. Diestelkamp, who was fouled attempting to grab a defensive rebound with 12 seconds left, put Drury in front for good, 75-74, after making both free throws. The freshman from Owensville, Missouri then picked up a steal at mid-court with four seconds remaining and made one of two foul shots giving the Lady Panthers a two-point lead. Drury forced another Indy turnover with one second remaining that put the game away.
Heather Harman scored a career high 30 points for Drury in the win. The junior from Walnut Grove had a critical three-point play with 1:13 remaining. Harman scored a lay-up that drew a foul and her free throw gave the Lady Panthers a 73-72 lead.
Diestelkamp finished with her sixth double-double of the season as she scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
“I’d say we grew up a lot this weekend,” said Drury head coach Molly Miller, whose team was coming off of a 78-72 overtime win on Thursday at Saint Joseph’s. “Defense is what wins us ballgames and we really locked down in the last few minutes. We didn’t shoot as well as have most of the year, but if we can rebound like we did today, we should win a lot of games.”
Drury out-rebounded the Greyhounds 43-25 with the Lady Panthers pulling down 18 offensive boards.
Drury trailed by as much as 12 in the first half and was down 39-35 at the intermission. Drury was behind 58-54 entering the fourth quarter. They outscored the Greyhounds 22-16 in the final period.
