SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- In a big time showdown between the top two teams in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Saturday afternoon, the number one Drury Lady Panthers fell a basket short against the number two Lewis Flyers, falling 75-73 in a contest that lived up to the hype.
 
Drury overcame an eleven-point deficit early in the second half, to twice briefly lead, but in the end it was strong free throw shooting that carried the Flyers to the win, as they made just enough charity shots in the closing seconds, then prevented a last second attempt from Drury to hold on. 
 
With the win, the Flyers move in front of the Lady Panthers in the conference standings, improving to 17-2 overall and 11-1 in GLVC action, with Drury slipping to 15-5 and 11-2 in the league.
 
The Flyers were efficient from the line, making 16 of 17 the first half to take a 37-28 halftime lead, then finished 25 of 29 at the stripe to seal the win.
 
"I thought foul trouble early really hurt us, and we let the calls get in our heads and you can't do that and the fouls played a big part," said Drury head coach Kaci Bailey.
 
Seniors Caitlynn Daniels, Makaiya Brooks and Anna Hitt were the offensive standouts for Drury, finishing with 20, 17 and 10 points respectively.  Hitt also topped the Lady Panther rebounding efforts with seven boards, moving her past 400 rebounds for her career.
 
The Flyers got 21 points from Ally Cesarini to pace their scoring.
 
The Lady Panthers are next on the road, playing at Truman State in a 5:15 pm game on Thursday, February 6th.
 
#