Box Score

CHICAGO, Ill. – A strong start that had the Lady Panthers up by as many as 24 in the opening 10 minutes carried Davenport to their eighth straight win tonight in a 75-49 victory over Saint Ambrose.  The win, which lifts DU to 13-2 on the season, places the team in Thursday night's championship game of the St. Xavier Christmas Tournament against the host Cougars at 8:00pm EST.
 
A game 15 high points from senior Karlee Despres and 12 from Carrie Grubius and helped the Lady Panthers extend their winning streak to eight games and advance to the championship game on Thursday where they will meet St. Xavier (Ill.).  Davenport finished the night shooting 37% (24-65) from the floor while limiting the Bees to just 29% shooting. DU also forced their opponent into 20 turnovers.
 
The opening 10 minutes were once again kind to Davenport as they raced out to a quick 20-2 lead with 15:07 to play and extended it to as many as 24 in the opening 10 minutes on a bucket by Kia Frazier.  Nine different players scored in the opening half as the Panthers hit on 50% (5-10) of their 3-pointers and were 10-11 from the charity stripe.
 
The second half saw the lead grow to 32 in the opening few minutes on a three ball from Karlee Despres and DU held their largest margin of 33 when Kayla Gross nailed a shot from behind the arc with 5:24 to play.  Davenport outscored the Bees 22-9 off turnovers, 20-16 on points in the paint and 24-17 on bench points.

Leading the way for Saint Ambrose (5-6) was Samantha Saladino with 11 and Michelle Charvat with 10.
 
Davenport (13-2) advances to the championship game of the St. Xavier Christmas tournament on Thursday and they will play at 8:00pm (EST). The Davenport Athletics Network will carry the game live.

Post-Game Quotes – Head Coach Mike Williams, Assistant Coach Shannon Rose

Williams on hot shooting for second game in a row: “Familiarity with the floor in having a scrimmage earlier this year and shoot around's have been very beneficial….We are moving the ball and taking some better shots.  That has improved our scoring.”
 
Rose on getting good looks from floor: “The team came out relaxed and ready to go and ready to shoot.  We are finding the girls that are open right now!”
 
Williams on team's defense over 8-game winning streak: “They are taking some pride in defense and as we prepare for each team, we are taking things away from them.  That has been a big key in making them do something else. Tonight's team wanted to ball screen and we did not let them do that.”
 
Rose on team's focus: “The team's focus is really good right now.  They come into every game knowing that every team is out to get us and knowing not to let our guard down”

Post - Game Notes

Davenport has now won at least 8 games in a row in seven straight seasons…Their meeting with No. 10 St. Xavier is their second matchup of the season against an NAIA DI Top 12 opponent…Davenport has not lost a game in the month of December since the 2007-08 season

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