Annie Armstrong scored 18 points to lead five Lady Panthers in double-figures as No. 3 Drury pulled away late for an 80-62 victory over Southwest Baptist to retain the trophy in the annual Bank of Bolivar "Highway 13 Cat Fight" rivalry series Tuesday night before 2,024 fans at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.

Addy Roller added 14 points and Paige Wilson and Shelby White had 12 points each for the Lady Panthers, who improved to 3-0 on the season heading into a showdown at perennial MIAA power Washburn on Saturday in Topeka, Kan.

SBU fell to 0-2.

Sanayika Shields had 11 points and 11 rebounds for her third straight double-double to start the season for a Drury team that made 30 of 34 free throws (88 percent), including 23 of 26 in the second half to help the pullaway. Armstrong was 4 of 4 at the line to push her totals to a perfect 21 of 21 at the stripe for the season.

In a game that was tied at 29 at the half, Drury still led just 55-50 with 5:15 to play before going on a 10-0 run to break it open.

"What a great atmosphere to play a women's college basketball game in," said Drury coach Molly Miller, whose won the first three games of her young head coaching career. "A big thanks to our students and our crow, and hats off to SBU for playing such a tough game as well.

"Kudos to our girls for staying with it and playing that hard-nosed defense down the stretch."

Dilonna Johnson had 17 points and Brook Duncan added 16 points for the Lady Bearcats, who made just 23 of 59 shots (39 percent) while Drury hit 22 of 52 (42 percent).

Drury had a 42-29 advantage on the boards, with Armstrong and White pulling down six each to help out Shields' 11-board effort.

Roller had six assists and no turnovers in 24 minutes for the Lady Panthers, who will try to win at Washburn for the first time in seven tries when they take on the Lady Blues at 7 p.m. Saturday in Topeka.

Box Score