The University of Minnesota Duluth put up a hellacious fight but was unable to best No. 9 Drury University on the road as it suffered a 70-58 defeat Tuesday at the O'Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield, Mo.

The Bulldogs (1-1) gave the Lady Panthers (4-0) their best test to date in the 2018-19 season. Coming into today's contest, Drury averaged nearly 91 points per game and it's average margin of victory was 17th best in the nation, blowing team's out on an average of 25 points. Not only did UMD have to maintain the up-tempo Panthers but it had to worry about large crowd of 2,450 on hand as part of Hiland Dairy Kids Day.

Drury was held to a season-low 70 points and shot a season-low from the field. The Lady Panthers made 23 of their 65 shots, good for 35.4 percent. The Bulldogs were dominant on the perimeter defensively as Drury went 0-for-11 behind the arc. 

The Lady Panthers got off to a fast start with the game's first nine points, forcing four turnovers in the first three minutes. UMD went on a run of their own to chip away the 9-0 start. Sophomore guard Payton Kahl buried a three to make it 14-11 Drury. The Panthers would build that lead to 18-12 after the first quarter. Midway through the second quarter senior forward Emma Boehm was dialed in from long distance as she cut the lead to 20-18 after making a pair of three-pointers. Drury extended its lead back up to 11 before Boehm and company slashed it back to six to 30-24. Boehm knocked down a trio of three-pointers and Kahl led the Bulldogs with 10 points at the halfway point. 

UMD had the lead down to a single bucket early in the third but the Panthers got rolling on offense as they dropped 25 points in the quarter. Drury connected on 52 percent of its looks in the third. The lead ballooned to 14 after Hailey Diestelkamp completed the three-point play with mere seconds left in the quarter. The Panthers attempted to seal the game but the Bulldogs tighten out again defensively. Daejah Bernard drove in for a layup to put Drury up by 17, its largest margin of the afternoon. The Bulldogs came storming back. In the last 10 minutes, sophomore forward Sarah Grow had seven points, senior guard Sammy Kozlowski pitched in eight of her own and junior guard Taylor Schneider picked up a couple steals to get the team back within contention. UMD went on a 9-0 run late in the quarter but the Bulldogs ran out of steam as time dwindled to the final buzzer. 

Diestelkamp, the reigning Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Week, had 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Panthers. Bernard also tallied 14 points and a game-high eight steals. Drury forced 28 turnovers, the most by a UMD club since St. Cloud State University was able to get the Bulldogs to cough up the ball 30 times on Jan. 15, 2013. The Bulldogs were solid in their own right as the Panthers committed 19 turnovers. 

Kozlowski had 16 points as she was one of four players in double figures. Kahl notched a career high 12 points in the setback while Grow amassed a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Boehm (10) was the other Bulldog in double figures. Freshman forward Brooke Olson shelled out a collegiate best six assists and five rebounds.

UMD will be back to start Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Saturday, Dec. 1 against St. Cloud State University.