SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The ninth-ranked Drury Lady Panthers used a 13-2 run in the first quarter to build a double-digit lead and rolled from there for a 75-57 win over McKendree on Saturday at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
Drury improved to 6-1 and 2-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Bearcats dropped to 3-2 and 0-1 in the league.
 
Hailey Diestelkamp led the Lady Panthers with 16 points, five rebounds, and two steals. The sophomore from Owensville, Missouri went 7 for 11 from the field and connected on a pair of three-pointers.
 
Lucia Fernandez had a double-double for Drury scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Freshman forward Azia Lynch also had 10 points for the first double-figure scoring game of her career.
 
"Our defense really set the tone early," said Drury head coach Molly Miller. "We got in the passing lanes, got some deflections and made it difficult for them to run their offense."
 
Drury led 28-13 at the end of the first quarter and stretched the lead to as much as 23 in the second half.
 
Sydney Diekhoff had 15 points to lead McKendree. 
 
Lady Panthers guard Alice Heinzler missed the game with a lower-body injury.
 
Drury returns to action on Tuesday with a non-conference game at Harding. Game time is 7 p.m. in Searcy, Arkansas. 
 
 
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