SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— 15^th ranked Ferris State held off a Drury charge in the fourth quarter and emerged with an 81-77 win over the Lady Panthers on Sunday afternoon in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
The game was the season opener for Drury, while Ferris State improved to 3-1.
 
The Bulldogs led by as much as 13 in the first half, but Drury rallied to trail by four, 46-62 at the intermission. After trailing by 11 again in the third quarter, the Lady Panthers chipped away and took their first lead of the second half, 72-71, with four minutes left in the fourth quarter. The lead changed hands down the stretch and Ferris State closed out the game, taking advantage of five missed free throws by Drury in the last two minutes.
 
"What a battle," said Drury head coach Kaci Bailey. "I am super-proud of our effort and how we came back from 11 down in the second half. We missed five throws down the stretch and that was huge. We went 12 for 23 and you're not gonna win ballgames shooting poor from the free throw line."
 
Josie Storey, in her Drury debut, led the Lady Panthers with 16 points as the Tennesee-Martin transfer hit five three-pointers. Anna Hitt added 14 points, while Rhi Gibbons scored 12 and Jazz Gray had 10 in her collegiate debut. Caitlynn Daniels dished out six assists.
 
Mia Riley had 24 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals to lead Ferris State, while Mya Hiram contributed 18 points.
 
"We had to play a few people out of position, but I thought we adapted," added Bailey. "If this is where we're at right now, I can't wait to see where we're at in March."
 
Drury shot a better field goal percentage than Ferris State, connecting on 48 percent (28 for 59), and the Bulldogs were 44 percent from the field, hitting 24 of 58 attempts. The Lady Panthers also had one more made three-point pointer, sinking eight to Ferris State's seven, but the difference was at the free throw line. The Bulldogs went 26 for 37 from the stripe, while the Lady Panthers sank 12 of 23.
 
Drury returns to action on Wednesday morning when they host Central Oklahoma for a 11 am tipoff as part of Hiland Dairy Kids Day in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
 
 
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