SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– The eighth-ranked Drury Lady Panthers kept their record perfect with an 88-46 win over Rogers State at the O'Reilly Family Event Center on Thursday.
Drury improved to 7-0 and dropped the Hillcats to 3-4.
Trailing 9-7 early, the Lady Panthers reeled off 16 unanswered points and built a 27-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. Drury kept Rogers State from scoring from the field for more than six minutes during the opening half.
"It all starts with the defensive pressure," said head coach
Molly Miller. "We turned them over 35 times, and that certainly helped on our offensive end. One of the things I was really pleased with was our shot selection. We took open shots that were on-balance, in rhythm, and in range. We want to share the basketball and not just take good shots but great shots."
Freshman
Paige Robinson led Drury with 23 points hitting 6 of her 11 attempts including 4 of her 7 three-point tries. She also went 7 for 7 from the free throw line.
Junior
Hailey Diestelkamp surpassed not one, but two milestones in Thursday's win. She became the 17th player in team history to reach 1,000 career points, and early in the game, Diestelkamp also became the fifth player ever at Drury to accumulate 600 career rebounds. The Owensville, Missouri native registered her fourth double-double of the season scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 boards.
"(Hailey) got to those career numbers quick," noted Miller. "She has almost has two full years to go - we're only seven games into this season. But she's a special player who gives it her all when she's in there, and that's what I appreciate most from her."
Lauren Schuldt led Rogers State with 12 points.
Drury forced 35 turnovers from the Hillcats while shooting 52 percent from the field going 32 for 62. The Lady Panthers were also 50 percent from three-point range hitting 10 of their 20 attempts. Drury out-rebounded Rogers State 43-25.
The Lady Panthers open play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference on Saturday when they host Missouri S&T at 1 p.m. in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
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