ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Drury struggled to make shots early, but the seventh-ranked Lady Panthers used their defense to get rolling in the second quarter in a 72-55 win at Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday night.
 
Drury improved to 6-1 and 2-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and sent the Tritons to 2-4 and 1-1 in the league.
 
The Lady Panthers hit only one of their first 10 shots from the field and trailed 10-8 at the end of the first quarter. Trailing 15-10 early in the second period, Drury turned the game around with a 15-0 run and led 26-17 at halftime, fueled by a defense that forced 15 turnovers against UMSL in the first half. The Lady Panthers led by as much as 21 in the second half as they coasted to a 17-point win.
 
Alana Findley led Drury with 15 points and nine rebounds, while freshman Reese Schaaf added 12 points.
 
"We missed some wide-open lay-ups early and we were struggling offensively," said Drury head coach Amy Eagan. "I also thought they played us soft and we looked hesitant to shoot – like we didn't know what to do with the ball when we were open. I told them at halftime, we're good shooters, but if you hesitate, you're going to miss. I thought we did a better job stepping up with confidence in the third and fourth quarters."
 
Drury ended up shooting 44 percent, hitting 28 of 63 shots. UMSL was 19 for 36 from the field for 52 percent from the field. The Lady Panthers forced 21 turnovers against the Tritons. The Lady Panthers out-rebounded UMSL 31-25 and pulled down 14 offensive rebounds while limiting UMSL to just three on the offensive glass. 
 
Morgan Ramthun led the Tritons with 14 points.
 
Drury continues their road trip on Saturday when they travel to Maryville for a 1 pm game in St. Louis.
 
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