By DON O'BRIEN

Herald-Whig Sports Editor

When Drury's Molly Carter picked up her fourth foul of the game midway through Saturday's Great Lakes Valley Conference game, Quincy University's Jessica Keller couldn't help but crack a little smile.

"I was thinking, 'It doesn't feel good, does it,'" Keller said after the Lady Hawks' 74-69 victory over the fifth-ranked Panthers at Pepsi Arena.

Keller missed more than eight minutes of playing time after picking up three fouls in the first half, which allowed Drury to build a 40-32 halftime lead. In the second half, it was Carter, Drury's top player, who had to ride the pine because of foul woes.

She picked up her fourth foul with 11 minutes, 41 seconds left to play and Drury leading 51-44. With Carter out, the Lady Hawks (19-8, 14-5 GLVC) went to work.

Down 14 points at one point early in the second half, QU came back to tie the game at 55 with 8:29 left on a pair of Lindsey Stellflue free throws.

The Lady Hawks took the lead for good at 62-60 when Keller made two free throws with 6:05 left. Carter re-entered the game at the point after her sister, Hannah, picked up her fourth foul. Without Carter, the Lady Hawks outscored Drury 18-9.

Even with Carter back, the Lady Hawks couldn't be stopped. QU continued to extend its lead and pushed it to 71-64 when Keller made a 3-pointer from the right wing with 2:15 left.

Drury (24-3, 16-3) couldn't get any closer than four points down the stretch as the Lady Hawks gave their chances of making the NCAA Tournament a huge boost with the victory.

Ranked sixth in the region coming into the week, the Lady Hawks won both of their games and beat the top-ranked Panthers in the process.

"The first hard thing we did was to make the run to get back in it," QU coach JD Gravina said. "So many times you'll see teams use so much energy to get back in that they don't have anything left after that. We forced the energy. We wanted it enough that we made ourselves play hard."

Early on, it didn't look good for Quincy. Keller picked up her third foul with 8:10 left in the first half after Hannah Carter drew an offensive foul at the top of the key. Seconds earlier, Keller had just converted on a rare four-point play to give Quincy its second lead of the game at 25-24.

To make matters worse, point guard Whintae Irby also got into foul trouble. She went to bench with 5:16 to play after fouling Ja'Nell Jones on a drive. Jones converted for the conventional three-point play and a 31-27 Panthers lead.

Drury took full advantage of their absence. The Panthers outscored QU 16-7 without Keller on the floor, including an 11-0 spurt that give Drury its first double-digit lead of the game.

"It was almost humorous, some of the calls," Keller said. "If you let that wear on you, it can get to you. We tried to stay positive and every once in a while we tapped (Gravina) on the shoulder and told him we were ready to go."

The Lady Hawks scored five straight points near the end of the half and trailed just 37-32 when they set up for a final shot. However, Janette Burgin turned the ball over and Molly Carter made an off-balance 3-pointer from 40 feet out at the buzzer to give Drury a 40-32 lead.

"The first half they had Keller sitting and in the second half we had Carter out," first-year Drury coach Steve Harold said. "Those are two quality basketball players. You have to give Quincy credit, they played an excellent ballgame."

In a head-to-head matchup with Carter, Keller also prevailed. She finished with 31 points to lead all scorers, adding six rebounds and three assists.

Stellflue added 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Irby had 12 for QU. Courtney Shuman gave Quincy a lift off the bench, collecting nine rebounds.

"We wouldn't have won tonight if it wasn't for Courtney Shuman," Gravina said. "She was the only girl that could rebound with them."

Oliver and Lindsay Ballweg each had 16 points, while Molly Carter had 14 points, nine rebounds, six steals and five assists for Drury, which has home-floor advantage throughout next week's GLVC Tournament.

The Lady Hawks, who finished third in the GLVC West, will play at Indianapolis (21-6, 13-6), the GLVC East's second-place team, in a 6 p.m. first-round game on Tuesday.

QU won the only meeting between the teams this season, taking an 82-69 victory at Pepsi Arena on Jan. 19.

-- dobrien@whig.com/221-3365