Kearney, Neb. - The Drury University women's basketball team got out to a 22-5 lead and never looked back in beating Nebraska-Kearney, 85-66, Saturday afternoon in Springfield, Mo.

The Panthers improve to 10-3 while the Lopers lose a third straight game to fall to 2-8 on the season.

Moment of the Game
Playing its first contest since December 18th, UNK tallied only nine points over the first 14 minutes and thus found itself down 24 points by the 7:43 mark.

In the 1st half, Drury shot 61.3 percent (19 of 31) from the floor to open up a 53-22 lead. UNK had 15 of its 20 turnovers in the half and made just 7 of 22 shots (31.8 pct.).

Sophomore guard Debi Johnson did get going in the 2nd half, scoring 20 of her career-best 27 points. She sunk 6 of 7 shots in the final 20 minutes, including a 5 of 5 effort from beyond the arc as UNK outscored Drury 44-32.

Johnson's previous career-high point total came last year in a home win over Colorado Christian (21).

Lopers of the Game
Johnson (Elsie) - 27 points on 9 of 15 (6 of 10 3's) FG shooting
Tessa Kreutzer (So., G, Holdrege) - 11 points on 7 of 8 FT shooting
Lea Ann Jameson (So., F, Minden) - 10 points, 3 steals, 3 assists
Kim Thissen (Sr., F, Davenport, Ia.) - 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals

Opponent Notes
Lindsay Ballweg scored a team-high 17 points on 6 of 10 FG shooting
Caitlin Shouse had 16 points on 8 of 11 FG shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 assists

Up Next
UNK has three home games next week, starting Jan. 6th vs. York