SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— The Drury Lady Panthers put an end to a three-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon as they turned back the Rockhurst Hawks 77-49 at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
After falling behind the Hawks by eight points midway through the second period, the Lady Panthers found another gear offensively and forged a 30-30 halftime standoff.
 
Drury kicked things into an even higher gear to start the second half, outscoring Rockhurst 25-14 in the third period, and coasted home with the win to improve to 9-4 overall and to 4-3 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.
 
"We came into this game thinking we had to play well and I thought early on we were pushing and trying to do too good," said Drury head coach Kaci Bailey.  "But I think you could see when we got settled, it was a completely different game."
 
The Lady Panthers after struggling the past three outings, found strong balanced scoring with four players in double figures, led by graduate student Beth Matas Martin, who finished with 15 points.
 
Juniors Anna Hitt and Caitlynn Daniels had 14 and 13 points respectively, with sophomore Reese Schaaf posting her fourth double-double effort of the season, ending with 12 points and 10 rebounds.  Her work on the glass helped Drury to a 40-23 advantage in rebounding.
 
"Top to bottom we did well today," added Bailey.  "I think it was a well-balanced effort and everyone that came into the game did their job."
 
Rockhurst, which saw a five-game winning streak end with the loss, was led in scoring by Macie Conway and Allison McFarren, who each had ten points.  The Hawks dropped to 7-4 (4-3) with the defeat.
 
The Lady Panthers will continue their current homestand, when they host Maryville on Thursday, January 11th in a 7:45 pm contest at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
 
 
#allweDUiswin