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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – In a rematch of last season's WHAC championship game, the #2 ranked Lady Panthers got double-figure points from Kallie Benike, Riana Hensley and Karlee Despres as they picked up an impressive 96-69 win over visiting Madonna University. The win lifts Davenport to 19-0 on the year with a home date set for next Wednesday vs. Northwestern Ohio.
Kallie Benike (Campbellsport, Wis.) recorded 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals to lead #2 Davenport to their 19th straight win and open a two-game lead in the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference standings. Juniors Riana Hensley (Toledo, Ohio) and Karlee Despres (Belmont, Mich.) combined for 31 points and 10 rebounds as DU is now 5-0 in league action.
In their first matchup since last season's WHAC tournament finale, the two teams played a very close ballgame in the opening minutes with Davenport holding the largest lead at 8 points (14-6) with 15:33 remaining. The Crusaders (6-8, 2-4 WHAC) kept things close thanks to their hot hands from behind the arc. Madonna made only 10 shots in the opening half, but nine of those came from long range on just 16 attempts.
With 10:17 on the clock and Madonna holding a slim one-point lead, Davenport began an 10-0 run to open up the game and eventually led by 13 at the break thanks to a rebound and put-back from Kallie Benike (Campbellsport, Wis.) as time expired. Benike posted 14 of her game high 17 in the opening twenty minutes of play.
The second half saw Davenport extend their lead to as many as 20 in the opening five minutes forcing the Crusaders into a timeout after a Leah Sevcik (Kewaunee, Wis.) layup and Karlee Despres three-pointer. Madonna again would not back down though and slowly chipped away at the lead cutting it to just 12 (69-57) with only 9:25 to play.
Jeannie Closson (Parchment, Mich.) then took over for the Lady Panthers as the senior scored five straight points for DU and Despres hit a deep three pointer to push the margin back to 17 and DU never looked back ultimately won by 27 points.
The Crusaders cooled off significantly in the second half as they converted only 28% of their shots from the field and just 27% from behind the arc. Madonna was led by Tabatha Wydryck who finished with 15 points but the 1st Team All-WHAC performer was just 4-13 from the field with three of those being from behind the arc.
Davenport had 10 different Lady Panthers record at least three points on the day and finished the game shooting 47% from the field (35/74).
Davenport (19-0, 5-0 WHAC) will host Northwestern Ohio next Wednesday at 5:30pm in part of a double-header with the men's team. The game will be featured on live video over the internet.
Post-Game Notes
- DU is now 36-2 all-time in the DU Student Center and have won 24 in a row
- The win lifts DU to 13-4 vs. Madonna in their 9 year history
- When DU wins the turnover margin, the Lady Panthers are now 166-25 all-time
