GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Freshman
Jenna Falkenberg scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 7 Davenport picked up their seventh straight win over Cornerstone. The Panthers won 82-76 in a game which they trailed by 17 points in the second quarter against the upset-minded Golden Eagles. Davenport wore down the opposition in the second half outscoring Cornerstone 28-14 in the third quarter to build a double-digit lead of their own.
The Panthers saw themselves down 18-7 after a rough first quarter when they shot 23.1 percent (3-of-13). Cornerstone jumped ahead 13-2 just five-plus minutes into the game and DU had four turnovers and missed six of their first seven shots. Cornerstone kept the play alive in the first quarter with seven second-chance points.
The Golden Eagles led by 17 points twice in the second quarter as Jesse Sheridan made a fast-break shot to lead 29-12 at the 6:26 mark of the second quarter. The last 2:14 of the second was pivotal as Davenport went from down 37-23 to just 37-31 at intermission.
Emily Severn hit a triple and Falkenberg scored a lay-up in the final minute.
The third quarter was a complete turnaround for the Panthers. They grabbed their first lead at 44-43 after a three-point play by
Hannah Wilkerson with 5:14 left in the third. That lead grew to 55-45 with 1:21 left in the quarter on a jumper by
Chri Carter. DU led 59-51 after three quarters and scored 18 of their points in the paint in the third.
Cornerstone started to make things more interesting with under three minutes left when they cut the deficit to 75-66 after a Lizzy Otten triple. The Golden Eagles made it 79-74 with 36 seconds left but Carter made three of four at the line down the stretch for the six-point win.
Sheridan and Otten led all scorers with 23 points each for CU. Carter finished with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists. Severn added 15 points and made four three's in nine tries. Davenport is now 16-2 overall and 10-0 in the WHAC.