MELBOURNE, Fla. - Annie Armstrong scored 19 points to lead three Lady Panthers in double-figures as No. 4 Drury picked up an 81-73 victory over host Florida Tech in the CarMax Holiday Classic Sunday afternoon at the Clemente Center.

Alice Heinzler added 17 points and freshman center Adrienne Horn scored a career-high 15 points for the Lady Panthers (10-1), who bounced back in a big way from their first loss of the season just over 14 hours earlier against Tampa. 

Drury led by as many as 21 points before Florida Tech (8-3) rallied late to cut the deficit to six late in the fourth quarter. But, as they've done all year, the Lady Panthers made enough free throws as part of a 20-for-26 effort at the stripe to close out the victory.

Drury was just 5-for-23 from 3-point range in the game, including 1-for-9 in the second half after entering the week leading the nation in 3-point FG percentage. The Lady Panthers compensated by making 28 free throws (in 37 tries), forcing 18 turnovers by Florida Tech's Panthers and coming out with a more aggressive demeanor from the opening tip as opposed to Saturday's slow start in the loss to Tampa.

"We got started early today, and that's what we needed," Drury coach Molly Miller said. "I think we did flip the switch. We did have a disappointing loss last night, and this team is competitive ... I think we were a little more gritty today. We talked in the locker room about how we needed to come out and punch them in the mouth a bit, to borrow an old Coach (Steve) Hesser line. And I think we did ... we were the aggressor from the get-go."

Drury used an 11-2 run midway through the first quarter to pull out to a 20-17 lead at the end of the period, but stretched that to 42-34 after two quarters. But again, it was a huge third quarter - fueled by a 13-0 run to open the period - that allowed the Lady Panthers to build a 55-34 lead with 6:29 left in the third after a pair of Hannah Dressler free throws.

Florida Tech's Panthers cut that to 14 (68-54) by the end of the period, and had it down to six (76-70) with two minutes to play, but Heinzler hit three free throws and Armstrong two from there to stave off any late heroics by the host school.

"I was really proud of our resiliency toward the end," said Miller, pointing out a Lady Panthers team playing late with starters Brianna Jones, Dressler and eventually Armstrong fouled out of the contest. "Having someone like Adrienne Horn step up like she did all game was huge ... this was a big-time game for her."

Horn's 15 points came in a career-high 28 minutes as she hit 4 of 9 from the field, 7 of 10 free throws and added four rebounds. 

Armstrong got back on track after a tough shooting day against Tampa, making 6 of 11 from the field (including 3 of 6 on 3-pointers) and all four of her free-throw attempts.

"I had a sit-down with Annie about being more aggressive, and those 11 shot attempts is about what we need from her," Miller said. "If she had a killer instinct, she'd be unstoppable. We're working on that."

Drury was outrebounded 47-33, but held Florida Tech to 35-percent shooting from the field (22 of 63) and committed just 11 turnovers to Tech's 18. The Drury bench outscored the Panthers 33-18, as Miller praised the work not only of Horn, but of key minutes provided by junior guard Paige Wilson (seven points) and freshman guard Emily Miller.

DeLise Williams had 18 points and Tiesha Flagler added 17 points for Florida Tech.

Drury will take the mandatory NCAA-II "Life In Balance" break next week before resuming practice in preparation for Great Lakes Valley Conference games at No. 7 Lewis on January 7 and at Wisconsin-Parkside in a national TV appearance (American Sports Network) on January 9.

"We wanted today to get back on the right track, and not go back into conference play with two losses in a row," Miller said. "We didn't take yesterday's loss lightly, but we knew we had to put that one away in the back of our minds and come out and get a win today."