Springfield, Mo. - A rematch for the books occurred at the O'Reilly Family Event Center Thursday night (Jan. 25) as the Quincy University Hawks took on the Drury University Panthers. Despite a hot start from the Hawks, the Panthers got back up to speed and overtook Quincy 70-66. 

The teams met  at Pepsi Arena in November, the nationally ranked Panthers, using their strong offense to their advantage, outscored the Hawks by 25 points. The roles were reversed in the first half of the Thursday night match-up as the Hawks led the Panthers by eleven points after one quarter and four at half. The Hawks found success inside the arc, crashing the lane and shooting from mid-distance. Cymirah Williams led the Hawks in the first quarter, going four for five. 

Mariann Blass and Janiece Dawson built some excitement in the final seconds of the half with Blass chucking up a last second attempt and Dawson collecting the rebound and sinking the final attempt of the half. The Hawks were over 50 percent from the field in the first half, an uncommon start for the Hawks, especially on the road.

Despite a promising start, the Hawks began to falter. Williams caused her third foul of the game early in the third, which limited her time on the court for the remainder of the game. The Panthers outshot the Hawks 56 percent to 30 percent, and finished the game on top. 

The Hawks had four ladies in the double digits and a new leader for points in Taya Stevenson, who had 13 points, two steals, and a block. Other double-digit scorers were Williams, Blass, and Mikayla Huffine. 

The Hawks look to get back into the win column against Southwest Baptist on Saturday in Bolivar.