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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Panthers outscored No. 3 Concordia 46-33 in the second half while allowing the Cardinals to shoot just 35% from the field in the period.  All five starters scored at least seven points for the Panthers as they defeated Concordia 86-78 to improve to 4-0 in WHAC play.

Both teams came out with hot shooting in the first half as Panthers shot 50% from the field compared to the Cardinals 53%. Neither team was able to take complete control of the game however. The Panthers got their largest lead of the half at 4 after a layup by Karlee Despres with 10:43 remaining in the half. The half would go on to see nine ties, seven lead changes, and a five point halftime lead for the Cardinals.

DU came out in the second half and continued their hot shooting. The Panthers went on a 15-5 run in the first 3:12 of the half to build a five point lead. The run was sparked by three pointers from seniors Abby Neff, Carrie Grubius, and Karlee Despres.

Concordia fought back and tied the game 64-64 with 10:11 remaining after a layup by Brittany Simmons, who led all scorers with 27.

Davenport responded with a 10-2 run and built their largest lead of the game at 8. During that span Harris knocked down 4 free-throws and Abbey Hengesbach made three layups.

Along with 21 points from Harris, the Panthers received 19 from Despres, and Hengesbach finished with 13 points off the bench.

With the victory tonight DU improves to 9-2 on the year and takes over sole possession of first place in the WHAC with a 4-0 record. Davenport will return to action on December 18 as they travel to Portland, Oregon to take on Concordia University (Ore.). The next home game for the Panthers will be on January 4 as they look to stay undefeated in conference play as they take on Lourdes.

Post-Game Quotes – Abbey Hengesbach and Karli Harris

Hengesbach on her 1st half performance compared to the 2nd half: “Coming in I knew it was a big game and I was timid and at half Coach Williams challenged me and I took it to heart and I really wanted to prove I could contribute to this team and this game.”

Harris on the team's halftime adjustments: “Coach really challenged all of us and that we needed to want it more than Concordia. As long as we continued to play together the shots would start to fall and we could slow them down on defense.” 


Post - Game Notes

Davenport is now 19-0 all-time against Concordia….The Panthers extended their WHAC regular season winning streak to 26 games…Davenport is now 50-44 all-time when losing at half time and improves to 6-4 when playing teams ranked in the NAIA D2 top five

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