SPRINGFIELD, Ill.— Drury pulled away from Illinois Springfield midway through the third quarter for an 85-65 win over the Prairie Stars at The Recreation & Athletic Center on Saturday in Springfield, Illinois.
 
The Lady Panthers improved to 14-4 and 10-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while Illinois Springfield fell to 4-15 and 3-8 in the GLVC.
 
Drury led by just two, 46-44, with 5:23 remaining in the third quarter, but outscored the Prairie Stars 11-3 for the rest of the quarter. The Lady Panthers then blew open the lead and were up by as much as 21 midway through the fourth quarter.
 
"We didn't close the first half well, and they kept momentum going after halftime, but we just stayed the course," said Drury head coach Kaci Bailey. "I thought we got them tired by running in transition. Makaiya Brooks also put on a show in the fourth quarter and made some big baskets."
 
Rhi Gibbons led five Lady Panthers in double-figures with 18 points. The sophomore from Nixa also added a career-high eight rebounds. Makaiya Brooks added 15 points, Caitlynn Daniels had 14 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, while Sara Mendel contributed 13 points and Josie Storey finished with 10 points.
 
Kayla Rice had a game-high 20 points for Illinois Springfield.
 
Drury out-rebounded the Prairie Stars 40-28 and the Lady Panthers had 13 offensive rebounds to Illinois Springfield's seven.
 
The Lady Panthers are back at home on Thursday when they host Upper Iowa for a 5:45 pm game in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
 
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