Box Score

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Davenport used a 38-8 run to end the first half on Saturday to take full control heading into the locker room as they cruised to a 79-59 win over Siena Heights.  The win lifts the No. 3 ranked Lady Panthers to 22-2 on the year and 12-0 in WHAC play. DU has won 17 consecutive games this season and will travel to No. 6 Concordia on Wednesday at 7:30pm.

Abbey Hengesbach came off the bench to post a game high 21 points on 7-9 shooting from the field.  Also reaching double figures were Karlee Despres with 17, Abby Neff with 14 and Carrie Grubius with 10.  Freshman Kia Frazier led the team with new career highs in rebounds (8) and assists (6). 

Siena Heights (15-9, 7-5) started the game on fire as the Saints, who came into the contest receiving votes in the NAIA DII poll, connected on seven of their first 13 shots to lead 15-3.  That was when DU started to chip away at the lead and after a Hengesbach three-pointer at 5:29, the Lady Panthers had their first lead of the game at 24-22. The long ball started a 20-1 run to end the half.  Davenport started the game by missing 14 of their first 15 shots but ended the first half at 41% thanks to the 13-19 finish.

The lead hovered between 15-24 points over the opening 10 minutes of the second half but with DU leading 64-42 with 10:47, the Panthers scored 12 of the next 16 points to take their largest lead of 30 at 76-46.  The run started with a pair of free-throws from Emily Nielsen and was finished by two more shots from the charity stripe by Karlee Despres. A late run by the Saints got the lead down to 18 but DU finished it off with another 20 point win.

Siena Heights finished the game shooting 47% after their sizzling start but was forced into 19 turnovers and the Panthers held a 25-8 advantage off points off those miscues.

Post-Game Quotes - Abby Neff and Mike Williams

Neff on going down by 12 and then putting together a 38-8 run in the 1st Half: "They came out real well shooting in the first half and coach just called a timeout and said we need to focus more on defense by getting in the gaps and pressuring them. After the timeout our shots started to fall and our pressure on defense improved greatly giving us the opportunity to get back into the game."
 
Williams on being down early in the game: "We seem to do that a lot lately, it's just a combination of their shots falling and ours not. I don't think we came out as aggressive as we could have because we try to not get into foul trouble and limit them getting to the free throw line."
 
Williams on the importance of this week's wins heading into No. 6 Concordia on the road Wednesday: "I don't know, I'm not sure if our players really understand that stuff, they just show up for the game and play which is kind of neat. I think the momentum is good, anytime you can build on success will help our team in the end."

Post-Game Notes

Over their last two games at the Student Center, Siena Heights has scored only 97 combined points…Davenport has now won 11 in a row vs. SHU and holds a 14-2 lead in the all-time series…DU brings a 34 game WHAC regular season win streak into the showdown on Wednesday vs. No. 6 Concordia in Ann Arbor

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