SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Highway 13 Cat Fight lived up to the billing on Monday night, as a tough and physical duel went to the Drury Lady Panthers 84-70 over the Southwest Baptist Bearcats at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.

In the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) opener for Drury, the Lady Panthers overcame a sluggish start, found momentum in the second period, then used a strong second half to turn back the Bearcats and improved the 4-2 overall and now 1-0 in GLVC action.

After falling behind the Bearcats by eight points early in the second period, the Lady Panthers put together a 19-7 scoring run to finish the period and held a 36-32 edge at halftime.

They turned up the offense after the break, outscoring Southwest Baptist 16-4, and built a lead of 17 before holding off the visitors.

"We missed some shots early and kind of panicked and they had good pressure, but we just needed to settle and believe and we regrouped at halftime," said Drury head coach Kaci Bailey.

Senior Caitlynn Daniels with a season-high 28 points, including a perfect 14 of 14 from the free throw line, paced the scoring. Sophomore Rhi Gibbons finished with 21, and sophomore Sara Mendell posted her third double-double of the season, with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

"You know we've had conversations with Caitlynn about being aggressive and I thought tonight she really got it going and then went fourteen for fourteen," added Bailey.

Drury won the rebounding battle 45-41 in a game that featured a total of 72 free throw attempts on a combined 57 team fouls.

The Bearcats dropped to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in GLVC play and were led in scoring by L.J. Boyland, who finished with 21 points.

The Lady Panthers resume GLVC action on Thursday, December 5th, when they host Quincy in a 5:45 pm showdown at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.