SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Lady Panthers shot their way past Truman State on Saturday afternoon for an 88-76 homecoming win.
 
Drury took an early 5-0 lead before the Bulldogs took the lead at 8-7 on six points in the paint. The Lady Panthers would regroup after Truman took the lead and went into the second quarter with a 21-18 advantage.
 
Truman State took the lead just 45 seconds into the second quarter and grew it to as much as three points in the opening two minutes of the quarter.
 
Sage Stratton made three to tie the game up and turned the Lady Panthers offense on. Over the final eight minutes of the first half, Drury scored 29 points and held Truman State to 12. Josie Storey scored 11 points over that span. Drury was 6-for-6 from distance during the stretch. It was for the Lady Panthers to take a 52-38 lead at the break.
 
Drury kept their pace to open the third quarter. The Lady Panthers grew their lead to 17 points just four minutes into the half, 60-43, the largest Lady Panther lead of the game. The deficit did not phase Truman State.
 
The Bulldogs slowly cut into the Drury lead, working to a nine-point game, 62-53, in just three minutes. The Lady Panthers were able to keep the Bulldogs at a distance but entered the fourth quarter with a single-digit advantage, 69-60.
 
Seconds into the final quarter, Sara Mendel recorded a layup to extend the Drury lead back to double figures, and the Lady Panthers did not look back. Drury took a 16-point lead to the media timeout, 82-66.
 
The final five minutes were back-and-forth with Truman State making a shot with two seconds left to cut their loss to 12 points, Drury 88-76.
 
GAME NOTES

• With a UMSL win, the Tritons improved to 14-1 in the GLVC, keeping Drury (13-2) one game behind UMSL.
• Drury shot 55.4% from the field and 57.9% from the three-point line.
• Truman State was held to 11.1% from beyond the arc.
• The Bulldogs shot 31 free throws, making 28. The Lady Panthers made 15.
• The Lady Panthers outrebounded the Bulldogs 31 to 29.
• There were only five assists for Truman State in the game and 17 for Drury.
• 52 points for Drury in the first half was the most they have had in a first half this season.
• Josie Storey topped her career high in the win with 22 points off the bench. She did so on 8-of-9 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the three-point line.
• Storey started the game 5-for-5 from deep.
• Storey had 17 points in the first half, which is the most in a first half for any Lady Panther this season.
• Sara Mendel recorded her second consecutive 20-point double-double of the season. She had 21 points and 10 rebounds.
• It was Mendel's 16th double-double of the season.
• Storey and Mendel are the first pair of Lady Panthers teammates to both score 20+ points in a game this season.
• Rhi Gibbons extended her double-digit scoring streak to 26 games with 19 points.
• Gibbons made two threes in the win. It was the first time since January 8, Missouri S&T, that she had made at least two in a game.
• Kaylee King recorded six assists in the win. She also extended her made free throw streak to 28.
• Emajin McCallop scored 28 points for Truman State and pulled in 8 boards.
• Morgan Miller also added 18 points.
• McCallop and Miller were the only two Bulldogs to score more than seven points.
• The Lady Panthers are now 12-1 this season when leading at halftime.
• Drury, once again, scored 70 points before their opponent, making them 10-0 when accomplishing that feat.
• The Lady Panthers are now 9-2 at home, 7-1 in the GLVC.
• The starting lineup of Kaylee King, Rhi Gibbons, Jazz Gray, Sage Stratton, and Sara Mendel is now 8-0 this season.
• The loss for Truman ended a five-game winning streak and extended the Lady Panthers winning streak to seven games.
• The Lady Panthers are now 7-0 in Saturday games this season.
• The Lady Panthers are now 25-1 all-time against Truman State and 20-0 in Springfield.

 
QUOTABLE
"Josie was absolutely on fire in the first half," Kaci Bailey said postgame, "I thought we had great ball movement to get Truman out of position in the zone and find the open shooter."
 
UP NEXT
The Lady Panthers travel to Kansas City next weekend, with their first game of the trip being February 12 at William Jewell.
 
FOLLOW THE LADY PANTHERS
For all the latest information on Drury athletics, please visit drurypanthers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Panthers on Instagram, X, and Facebook