A furious fourth-quarter rally by No. 4 Drury propelled the unbeaten Lady Panthers to a 71-64 non-conference victory over No. 19 Arkansas Tech in a thriller before 2,014 fans on Hiland Dairy Kids Day Tuesday at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.

Coach Molly Miller's Lady Panthers (9-0) outscored the Golden Suns 21-7 in the fourth quarter to storm back and knock off the Great American Conference favorites with four starters back from an NCAA-II Elite Eight team of last season. Hannah Dressler overcame a rough stretch of five consecutive missed free throws to hit four straight down the stretch when it mattered most, and Annie Armstrong was up to her usual late-game heroics to help keep DU perfect.

Drury (which remained at No. 4 in the USA TODAY Top 25 Poll released later Tuesday afternoon) was fueled on by approximately 1,600 elementary school students from 16 area schools on the second annual "Kids Day" game ... a factor that Miller said definitely played a role in the Lady Panthers' energy level during the fourth-quarter comeback, after DU had trailed after each of the first three quarters and was down by seven (61-54) with just over five minutes to play.

Drury finished off the game with a 17-3 run to leave the young crowd smiling on their bus ride home as the Lady Panthers defeated Arkansas Tech for the first time in four meetings in the all-time series.

"This atmosphere was fantastic," Miller said. "To get the surrounding communities here to see what Lady Panthers Basketball is all about, and for them to get to watch some incredible role models ... this was just great. Communication was tough at times, but you just love the atmosphere and the energy we got from those kids. They got their money's worth today."

Alice Heinzler overcame foul difficulties to lead three Lady Panthers in double-figures with 16 points, while Armstrong added 14 points and Dressler had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five steals in her first action since suffering a concussion in the Lady Panthers' victory at Maryville on December 5.

"She's such a gritty player," Miller said of Dressler. "It was great to have her back, because she picked up where she left off."

Heinzler hit a big 3-pointer (her fourth of the game) from the corner with 2:24 to go to put the Lady Panthers up 63-62, and Armstrong followed with a running jumper to put DU up by three (65-62) with 42 seconds remaining. Then it was line time for the nation's top free-throw shooting team of last season: Dressler overcame any mental obstacles after the five straight misses to make a pair at the 27-second mark and put Drury up 67-62, and then Armstrong followed with two more with 13 seconds left to make it a seven-point lead.

Dressler iced it with two more with 11 seconds left for a 71-62 advantage before Tech's Fatima Adams added a bucket in the closing seconds.

Anissa Pounds had 21 points and Adams - a returning All-America selection - added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Golden Suns, who were matched (32-all) on the boards by DU, which won despite shooting just 41 percent from the field (23 of 56). Tech had just five offensive rebounds in the contest.

"We're more of a finesse team, and I think the physicality got to us a bit in the first half," Miller said. "I was proud of our post players off the bench for stepping up the way they did when we had others in foul trouble ... and when your two all-stars (Armstrong and Heinzler) are on the bench with four fouls each, Paige Wilson stepped up huge with some big stops and a big 3 for us. When you have those types of players step up, that's always great."

Drury will leave Wednesday for Melbourne, Fla., to take part in the Florida Tech Classic. The Lady Panthers will face Tampa on Saturday and the host team on Sunday.

"We decided that plane ride going to be a lot more enjoyable now with this win under our belt," Miller said. "But give a lot of credit to Arkansas Tech .... that's a very good team that played a tremendous game."

December 15, 2015
The USA TODAY Sports Division II Top 25 women's basketball poll, with first place votes to the right, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th.

Rank	Institution - First Place Votes	Previous Rank	Record	Total Points
1	Fort Hays State University (Kan.) - 16	1	9-0	587
2	West Texas A&M University - 5	2	8-0	565
3	Emporia State University (Kan.) - 2	3	8-1	539
4	Drury University (Mo.)	4	8-0	525
5	University of Alaska - Anchorage	6	13-1	463
6	California Baptist University	5	9-1	452
7	Lewis University (Ill.)	7	9-1	423
8	Limestone College (S.C.)	8	8-0	399
9	Winona State University (Minn.)	11	12-0	393
10	Nova Southeastern University (Fla.)	10	8-1	392
11	Ashland University (Ohio)	12	8-0	329
12	Lubbock Christian University (Texas)	14	7-0	305
13	California University of Pennsylvania (Pa.)	13	8-1	287
14	Union University (Tenn.)	9	9-1	276
15	Columbus State University (Ga.)	15	5-1	243
16	Missouri Western State	17	9-0	240
17	Anderson University (S.C.)	16	6-0	209
18	Arkansas Tech University	19	6-1	170
19	West Liberty University (W.Va.)	18	8-1	152
20	Virginia Union University - 1	21	6-0	117
21	Queens College (N.Y.)	20	5-1	102
22	Delta State University (Miss.)	NR	7-0	101
23	Quincy University (Ill.)	23	8-1	88
24	Benedict College (S.C.)	24	7-1	74
25	Azusa Pacific University (Calif.)	25	8-2	52

Dropped Out: Colorado Mesa University.
Others receiving votes: University Of Sioux Falls (S.D.) 50; Francis Marion University (S.C.) 28; University of California - San Diego 28; Minnesota State University - Moorhead 23; Pittsburg State University (Kan.) 17; Michigan Technological University 15; American International College (Mass.) 14; Colorado State University - Pueblo 13; Shaw University (N.C.) 11; Colorado Mesa University 10; Bentley University (Mass.) 9; Carson-Newman University (Tenn.) 8; Florida Southern College 8; Lander University (S.C.) 8; Kentucky State University 3; Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania 2.