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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The No. 1 Lady Panthers turned up the intensity for their opening round game of the WHAC Tournament as they defeated rival Aquinas 87-47.  The win sends Davenport into Saturday's semifinals where they will host the No. 5 seed Madonna University who defeated No. 4 Indiana Tech 89-80 in overtime. Game time is set for 1:00pm at the DU Student Center.

Davenport opened the game on a 16-0 run and never looked back leading by as many 43 in the second half as they cruised to the 40-point win over the Saints.  Five different Lady Panthers recorded double-digit points led by senior Jeannie Closson (Parchment, Mich.) who finished with a game high 16 on 7-10 shooting from the field.

After securing their first ever undefeated regular season in school history, DU opened the post-season with some flare by scoring the first 16 points of the game forcing the Saints into a pair of timeouts. After AQ got on the board 14:02 mark, DU used another run of 20-8 to lead 36-10 with 5:10 to play in the first.

Leading 45-16 at halftime saw Davenport connect on 19 of their 34 shots including 5-12 from behind the arc.  The Lady Panthers limited the Saints to only seven field goals and a dismal 24.1% shooting. Jeannie Closson accounted for 12 points and 3 rebounds in the first twenty minutes as eight different DU players posted points.

After an early basket by Aquinas' Alicia Dorko used a 10-4 run to open a 33 point lead that was finished off by layup from Abby Neff (LaGrange, Ind.). The margin grew to 36 with just under 13:00 to play after a steal and three-pointer from Karli Harris (Fishers, Ind.).

Most of the bench saw valuable action on Wednesday with every player posting at least six minutes of game action.  Davenport's reserves accounted for 30 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals.

Joining Closson in double-figures was Kristi Boehm (Kent City, Mich.) with 15, Karlee Despres (Belmont, Mich.) with 12, Riana Hensley (Toledo, Ohio) with 11 and Kallie Benike (Campbellsport, Wis.) with 10. Closson also finished with six rebounds and three blocks.  Hensley posted a team high four blocks as well.

Davenport will meet Madonna University in Saturday's semifinals at 1:00pm at the DU Student Center.  It marks the fifth straight year the two teams will meet in post-season action. Davenport has won the last two matcups including a 79-67 win in last year's WHAC Championship game and an 85-73 win in the 2008-09 semifinals.