QUINCY, Ill. - A slow offensive start proved costly for Quincy on Saturday afternoon, as Drury knocked down 12 threes on the way to a 74–67 victory inside Pepsi Arena to improve to 3–0 in GLVC play.
Drury opened the game by draining its first two triples to jump out to an early 8–3 lead just over two minutes in. Quincy battled back and cut the deficit to one after a layup by
Karly Peters near the three-minute mark, but a pair of late baskets by the Panthers sent Drury into the second quarter with a 17–12 advantage. The Hawks struggled to find a rhythm offensively, shooting just 3-for-15 in the opening quarter, while Drury went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
The Panthers built their largest lead of the first half with an 8–2 run early in the period, forcing a Quincy timeout with 7:19 left and Drury ahead 25–14.
Hayven Harden provided a spark off the bench with four quick points in the paint, and Quincy closed the gap with an 8–0 surge over the final four minutes, fueled by
Acheampomaa Danso in her return after a two-game absence. However, a late Drury three restored separation, and the Panthers entered halftime up 32–26.
Drury seized control coming out of the break, opening the third on a 14–2 run while going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from deep. The early flurry pushed the lead to 46–28 and forced another Hawk timeout less than three minutes into the half. Quincy responded with a 14–5 run behind six points apiece from Harden and Peters to cut the margin to single digits, but Drury answered with a three-point play in the final minute to take a 55–42 lead into the fourth.
The Panthers picked up right where they left off, hitting their 11th and 12th threes of the afternoon to extend the lead to 17. Quincy kept fighting and trimmed the deficit to 10 with under four minutes remaining, then to six after a Peters three-point play with just over a minute to go. Despite the Hawks' best offensive quarter (25 points and 10-16 from the field), the comeback came up short as Drury sealed the 74–67 decision.
Quincy finished the game shooting just under 42 percent from the floor, although the Hawks struggled mightily through the first three quarters before finding their rhythm late. Drury shot 43.5 percent overall, but the difference came from behind the arc, as the Panthers finished 12-of-20 from three compared to Quincy's 3-of-13. While the Panthers held a narrow 38–34 rebounding edge, Quincy dominated in the paint with a 44–22 scoring advantage, further illustrating how costly the perimeter gap proved to be.
Peters paced the Hawks with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Harden delivered one of her strongest performances of the season with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting to go along with six rebounds and three blocks. Danso added 12 points and eight rebounds in her return to the lineup, but struggled with efficiency, shooting 4-of-11 from the field.
Katey Flynn also finished in double figures with 13 points; however, she endured her most difficult shooting night of the season, going just 4-of-11 from the floor despite surpassing 750 career points. Drury was led by their star Rhi Gibbons, who recorded a season-high 20 points and added 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
The Hawks will step away from GLVC play for one game as they travel to Allendale, Michigan, to take on the top-ranked team in the country, Grand Valley State, on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for noon.
