SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The University of Indianapolis women's basketball team faced off against No. 16-ranked Drury in their first GLVC road game on Thursday night.
 
After falling into an early hole, the Greyhounds caught fire before the end of the first half to take a lead they would keep for most of the game. But the Hounds' upset bid would fall short after a back-and-forth fourth quarter that saw the Panthers escape with an 86-80 win.
 
Princess German led the Greyhounds with 25 points while Sarah Costello added 17 and Nicole Anderson chipped in with 16 as UIndy set a new season best for field goal percentage by knocking down 54.2 percent (26-for-48) of their field goals. But a cold spell late in the game proved costly as the Hounds dropped to 3-12 on the year and 1-4 in GLVC play.
 
Annie Armstrong had 25 points to lead the Panthers as Drury used the three ball to get back in the game and eventually pull away and move to 11-3 on the year and 4-2 in the conference.

"We had some stretches where we really played well but the slow start and that stretch late in the game cost us," Head coach Constantin Popa said. "They had a lot of second and third chances late in the game and they made us pay for it. It was great to see how hard we fought throughout the game and we had a really good game offensively. We stuck to our game plan and got to the line but giving up second and third opportunities late in the game bit us."
 
The Panthers started the game red hot, cashing in on three UIndy turnovers to open up an early 8-0 lead. But the Hounds would respond and cut the deficit to 13-9 at the first media timeout. UIndy stayed within striking distance of the Panthers for the rest of the quarter and trailed 22-16 after 10 minutes.
 
The dam broke for the Greyhounds in the second quarter, as UIndy found their stroke on the offensive end. Following a Drury three to open the quarter, the Greyhounds rattled off an 11-0 run to take their first least of the game at the 7:27 mark after an Ashley Montanez jumper, the fifth straight make for UIndy at the time.
 
The Hounds finished the second quarter 11-for-17 from the floor and took a 42-36 lead into the break and went into the locker room with the lead after shooting 62.5 percent (15-for-24) in the opening half.
 
UIndy continued to knock down their open looks in the second half and after a German layup with 4:41 to play in the third, the Hounds extended their lead to 53-45, their largest of the game. But the top three-point shooting team in the GLVC would use the long ball to get back in the game before the end of the third. Drury buried their last three triples to close the quarter and cut the Greyhound lead to 59-58.
 
Drury netted the five of the first seven points of the fourth quarter to take a 63-61 lead after a Paige Wilson three with 8:16 to play. That started a stretch that the two teams exchange three ties and eight lead changes over the next 3:25, ending with a jumper from Costello that tied the game at 73.
 
But UIndy was plagued by a cold streak at the worst possible time, going 2-for-9 from the floor down the over the final 4:51, enabling Drury to take the late lead and close the game out at the free throw line.
 
In addition to setting a new season high in field goal percentage, the Greyhounds also shot a season best 44.4 percent (8-for-18) from long distance and knocked down a season high 20 free throws on 23 attempts.
 
Drury connected on 49.2 percent (30-for-61) of their field goal attempts, hitting 11 of 26 threes and 15 of 26 free throws.
 
Rebounds were 32-25 in favor of the Panthers with Anderson's seven boards leading all Greyhounds. Drury also finished with a slim advantage in the turnover battle, forcing 14 UIndy mistakes while committing just 12 turnovers.
 
The Greyhounds will be back on the court on Saturday afternoon in Rolla, Mo. to take on the Miners of Missouri S&T. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. eastern time.