WARRENSBURG - Sanayika Shields scored 22 of her career-high 24 points in the second half, sparking No. 16 Drury to a 73-70, come-from-behind victory over Central Missouri in a non-conference thriller Monday night at the Multipurpose Building.

Down by 11 midway through the second half (54-43 with 12:30 to go), the Lady Panthers (6-2) used a 20-6 run to climb back into it and grab the lead, then fought off the Jennies (6-3) down the stretch for the big road win. 

A 3-pointer from Addy Roller put the Lady Panthers up 70-68 with 2:10 to go, and Drury never trailed again. It was 71-70 with 40 seconds to go after UCM's Jasmine Thompson made a pair of free throws, but the Jennies missed a game-winning attempt in the final 10 seconds when Thompson's layup bounced away and into the hands of Armstrong.

UCM coach Dave Slifer was issued a technical foul after wildly protesting what he thought should have been a foul on the play, and Armstrong (18 points) - the nation's leading FT percentage shooter at .974 coming into the contest - made both free throws with one second left. But Drury turned the ball over on the in-bounds play near midcourt and Central Missouri was granted a time out - and 0.5 on the clock - for one last crack.

UCM's Shelby Winkelmann got off a shot from approximately 25 feet that bounced off the backboard and away, producing the win for the Lady Panthers.

"Barn-burner," Drury first-year coach Molly Miller said with a smile afterward. "The girls definitely persevered in the second half ... we didn't play like we know we can play in the first half at all. Coming out of here with the win on the road against an MIAA team is always huge."

Drury trailed 34-27 at halftime after the Jennies scored the final seven points of the half, a lead helped by the fact that Shields played just seven first-half minutes after picking up two quick fouls.

But it was a different story after the break, as the senior post took over, finishing with a career-high 24 points and adding six rebounds in her 26 minutes of play.

"That just goes to show you we're a different team with Sanayika on the floor," Miller said. "She's such a difference-maker ... kudos to her for not getting down with her foul trouble. She came right in and picked up where she left off in the second half. She had to stay out of foul trouble there for us to make that run.

"I challenged them all at halftime, and it proves you can come out with the victory when you rise up and meet challenges like that."

Paige Wilson added 11 points and Roller had 10 points for the Lady Panthers, who made 16 of 25 shots in the second half (64 percent) to overcome a 35-percent effort in the first half (10 of 29) and finish at 48 percent. 

Revonnia Howard had 27 points and nine rebounds before fouling out in the final two minutes for the Jennies, while Winkelmann finished with 24 points.

The Lady Panthers will conclude their non-conference schedule by hosting Central Methodist in an 11:30 a.m. start Thursday for Hiland Dairy Kids Day at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.