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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport used a 15-0 run to close out the first half leading to a 16 point advantage at the break as they cruised to a 94-75 win over Madonna University on Saturday in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) semifinals. With the win, Davenport improves to 29-2 overall and will host their fifth straight conference tournament championship game on Monday when they welcome in Concordia at 7:30pm. It is the third year in a row the two teams will play in the title game as both teams have now qualified for the NAIA National Tournament thanks to the two bids the WHAC receives.

Senior Karli Harris poured in a career high 26 points as she went 7-12 from the field and 12-13 from the foul line to lead the Lady Panthers into their fifth straight WHAC Tournament championship game and sixth in the eight years DU has been an official member in the conference. Four other players finished in double-figures led by Emily Nielsen's 18 and Tiesha Stokes' 17 off the bench. Kendra Cook and Alex Law chipped in with 13 and 11 points respectively as DU outscored the Crusaders 32-14 at the foul line.

Madonna, which handed Davenport one of their two regular season losses, got the early edge thanks to a 7-0 run to lead by four just 2:24 into the game. The score would bounce back and forth between the two schools until Davenport led 30-29 with 5:58 to play in the half. The Panthers then rattled off the final 15 points of the half while limiting MU to 0-4 from the field and forcing five turnovers during the stretch.

The lead grew to as many as 19 in the early stages of the second half but the 3-point shot kept the Crusaders alive as they finished the game knocking down 11 of their 25 attempts but it was not enough as DU did not allow the visitors to get within 10 points for the remainder of the day.

DU finished 50.9% (27-53) from the field including 8-18 from behind the arc while the Crusaders were 25-61 (41%). The difference came at the foul line however as DU used an aggressive game-plan to get to the basket and converted 32 made foul shots compared to just 14 for MU.

Kaylee McGrath led a trio of Crusaders in double-figures in her final game of her career as the 1^st Team All-WHAC performer finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.

Other stat leaders for DU were Kia Frazier with eight rebounds, Karli Harris with seven assists and Tiesha Stokes with five steals. DU will now play Concordia on Monday in the 2013 WHAC Tournament championship game. Tip is set for 7:30pm.

Post-Game Notes

Davenport will be making their sixth appearance in the WHAC title game in only their eighth year in the conference…DU has played Madonna in six of the last seven WHAC Tournament's and is now 4-2 in those having won the last four including three in the semifinal round…DU and Concordia split their season series with each winning on their home floor