ROLLA, Mo.—The Drury Lady Panthers played their first game in 22 days after positive cases of the COVID-19 virus put their season on hold twice in the last three weeks, but the number one ranked team in the nation still prevailed with an 85-66 win at Missouri S&T in Rolla on Thursday to stay unbeaten at 9-0. The win extended the longest winning streak in NCAA-II women's basketball to 41 games.
 
Drury opened the contest with a 13-3 run and led 23-13 after the opening quarter. Junior guard Paige Robinson put up 11 points in the first period on her way to a 21-point night.
 
The Lady Panthers owned a 41-27 halftime lead and then scored 10 unanswered points to start the third quarter, stretching the lead to 22.
 
"I told them before the game that we had to do two things, and I didn't care about offense at all," said Drury head coach Amy Eagan. "We had to defend and rebound. I thought we did a pretty good job of that. We got pretty tired in the second half, so we gave up some things we normally wouldn't, but we did a good job of staying together."
 
In addition to Robinson's 21, senior forward Azia Lynch poured in a game-high 22 points, with 18 of them coming in the second half. Payton Richards added 13 points, and freshman guard Allie Clevenger contributed a season-high 12.
 
Drury's defense forced 23 Missouri S&T turnovers, and the Lady Panthers were credited with 15 steals, four of them coming from Robinson while Clevenger and Lauren Shipley had three each.
 
Alex Kerr led the Miners with 21 points.
 
Missouri S&T fell to 2-12 with the loss.
 
Drury plays again on Saturday as they travel to St. Louis to take on Maryville at 1 pm. 
 
 
#allweDUiswin