SPRNGFIELD, Mo.-- Score the ball…defend the ball…rebound the ball!
 
The Drury Lady Panthers did all of those quite well on Saturday afternoon, and the result was an impressive 85-56 win over the William Jewell Cardinals during Homecoming Weekend at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
Drury came out strong, shooting at a 60 percent clip in the first half and leading to a 47-24 lead over the Cardinals at halftime.  The Lady Panthers would finish the contest, hitting on 32 of 62 shots for 52 percent while containing William Jewell's scoring opportunities, and with the win, moving to 18-6 on the season and to 14-3 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.
 
The Lady Panthers also were again dominant on the boards, pulling down 45 rebounds to just 25 for the Cardinals, who fell to 5-17 and 3-13 in GLVC play.
 
"I think we came out and set the tone in the first quarter," said Drury head coach Kaci Bailey.  "We shot the ball well, but I think I'm most proud that we held them to nine points in the first ten minutes, that was big."
 
Once again, it was senior leadership that paced the win for Drury, with Makaiya Brooks and Caitlynn Daniels out front with 21 and 18 points, respectively, while sophomore Rhi Gibbons added 17 to the cause.
 
"Makaiya is so deserving," added Bailey.  "If everyone knew the long hours she spends in the gym to work on her craft, and I'm just so happy that it's paying off for her."
 
The Cardinals attempted to keep pace with long-ranging shooting but were limited to just seven three-point makes on 30 attempts.  The trio of Elia Bockenstedt, Kate Hillyer and Kirsten Hauck, shared scoring honors with 11 points each for William Jewell.
 
The Lady Panthers will next be in action on Saturday, February 22nd, when they travel to Southwest Baptist for a 1 pm GLVC matchup.