FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Davenport women's basketball team is going back to Sioux City, Iowa for the 11^th straight season.
 
The second-ranked Panthers built a 19-6 run in the first half and ran away to a 72-48 victory at Indiana Tech Wednesday night to clinch the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference championship outright and capture the league's first of two automatic bids to the NAIA Division II Tournament in Iowa.
 
Davenport (25-0, 19-0 WHAC) locks up a ninth consecutive conference championship after maintaining a four-game lead in the standings with three games remaining in the regular-season. The Panthers also clinch the No. 1 seed to the WHAC Tournament and will have home court advantage.
 
After a quiet performance at Northwestern Ohio Saturday, the Davenport starters made a turnaround and combined for 50 points. Kia Frazier scored 10 of her 14 points in the first half and added five steals. Fort Wayne native Brittany Johnson went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and finished with a dozen points in front her family and friends in attendance. Daina Grazulis and Linnea Brandholm both had 10 points and Kayleigh VanKeulen had four points to round out the starters.
 
Davenport shot 50.9 percent from the floor even though hitting only four 3-pointers. The Panthers did go 10-for-16 on the free throw line.
 
Indiana Tech (12-15, 11-8 WHAC) was led by Taylor Carver, who had a double-double performance of a dozen points and 10 boards. The Warriors compiled a 32.7 shooting percentage and only had one 3-point basket. They did made 13 free throws on 20 opportunities.
 
After a slow start, Davenport picked up the tempo and used the 19-6 run to build a 21-8 lead with 9:12 left in the half. The Panthers did a lot of their scoring inside the perimeter as they went 1-for-9 from the 3-point line in the opening period. Frazier went 5-for-6 to the basket for 10 points and added four steals to lead the Panthers. DU only had three assists tallied in the first half.
 
The Panthers will play three of their remaining regular season games at home starting with Concordia Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Post-Game Notes
Davenport improves to 25-1 in the all-time series with Indiana Tech, having won 25 straight…Daina Grazulis has reached double figures in points 16 of the last 17 contests
 
Women's Basketball Contact: Rick Hoskin | 616-871-6180 | rhoskin@davenport.edu
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