Box Score
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – In a game that featured a combined 49 fouls and a 3-point shooting percentage of 18%, the No. 3 ranked Lady Panthers outlasted the visiting Saints of Aquinas 71-58. The win, which is the 13th in a row for Davenport, lifts them to 18-2 on the year and 8-0 in league action. They host rival Cornerstone on Wednesday at 5:30pm.
Abby Neff and Karli Harris led the scoring for Davenport with 14 points apiece as Neff also pulled down a career high 9 rebounds (4 offensive) in the win. After shooting 50% in the opening half, DU struggled in the second and finished the game at 44% (24/54). Their defense however limited the Saints to just 30% from the field and a dismal 9.5% from behind the arc.
Aquinas scored the opening bucket of the game but that would be their only lead as Davenport scored on three of their next four possessions to take a 7-2 lead. After the Saints cut the lead to a single point on two different occasions, Davenport used a 9-0 spurt and a 12-5 run to lead 39-24 at the break. Harris and Neff finished with 11 and 10 points in the opening half as their defense limited the Saints to zero points from behind the arc (0/11).
When it looked as if Aquinas would get back into the game early on in the second as the cut the margin to just eight (39-31), the Panthers rallied to score 12 of the next 16 points to lead 51-36 with 13:39 to play. Highlighting the run was back to back layups from Abby Neff forcing Aquinas into a timeout. The lead only got under 10 points on two more occasions with DU holding their largest lead of 20 (71-51) with 3:40 on the clock.
Post-Game Quotes – Head Coach Mike Williams
Williams on getting a win over a rival: “Any time you can beat your rival it is good. There was a lot of intensity and both teams played hard. Both teams had to work for what they got and every basket was tough.”
Williams on offensive rebounding for Aquinas: “They were a big team and we did not do a good job of attacking the glass…We need to have all five players going after it and it is something we will work on in practice. We watched them rebound the ball”
Williams on preparing for Cornerstone: “We need to look at the film and see where we can get better shots. We took a lot of quick threes and we need to clean up our defense…most importantly our post-defense.”
Post - Game Notes
Davenport has now won 30 consecutive WHAC regular season games and 23 straight conference games at home…The 9 rebounds for senior Abby Neff is a new career high…Before the game, senior Karlee Despres was honored with a ball for her 1000th career point…Davenport is now 51-3 all-time in the Student Center and will play their next four games here starting Wednesday at 5:30 vs. Cornerstone
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