In a game where the energy level seemed more like a postseason showdown rather than an early December contest, the Drury Lady Panthers battled past the Quincy Hawks 91-82 at the O'Reilly Family Event Center on Thursday night.
 
After falling behind the Hawks 47-41 at halftime, Drury outscored the visitors 50-35 the second half and improved to 5-2 on the season and to 2-0 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
 
But it was anything but easy, as the Hawks overcame a nine-point deficit after the first quarter to grab control and led going into the fourth quarter. However, the Lady Panthers outworked Quincy and took the lead with under four minutes to play, scoring at the free throw line to close out the win.
 
"A win is a win, no matter how you get there," said Drury head coach Kaci Bailey.  "At the end of the day we found a way and got some key stops and made big free throws down the stretch."
 
Sophomore Rhi Gibbons provided the spark after halftime, scoring 17 of her team-high 19 points to lead the way.  Senior Caitlynn Daniels closed with 15, including a six-for-six effort at the free throw line in the final moments.  Sophomore Sara Mendel and freshman Kaylee King added ten points each.
 
"We said at halftime that we had to get Rhi going somehow and she looked to be more aggressive; our spacing for her seemed to be better, and we created some driving lanes for her as well," added Bailey.
 
The Hawks, who dropped to 3-5 overall and 0-2 in GLVC play, got an impressive offensive night from Nicole McDermott, who finished with 28 points.  
 
The Lady Panthers conclude their early league home stand on Saturday, December 7th when they host Truman State in a 1 pm GLVC meeting at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.