PUEBLO, Colo. - The second game of the Al Kaly Shrine Classic for the women's basketball team featured a matchup against the host Colorado State-Pueblo Thunderwolves entering the night as the fifth-ranked team in NCAA Division II. The Panthers hung around but could not pull off the upset with a 67-59 loss on Saturday night. Davenport falls to 1-4 overall and 0-3 on the road while CSU-Pueblo moves to 2-2 overall. This was the first meeting between the two schools and the highest ranked opponent Davenport has faced in D2.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Thunderwolves outscored the Panthers in each of the first three quarters to lead by 11 points after 30 minutes. The Panthers did win the fourth quarter by three points, 16-13, to make the final outcome eight points at 67-59.
-CSU-Pueblo scored the game's first five points on a basket by Jade Adams and three-pointer by Katie Jones. Amanda Merz got the team's first points for DU with 7:05 left in the first quarter. Emily Severn's three-pointer with 4:56 left in the quarter cut the lead to 9-7. The Thunderwolves increased their lead to 17-10 but the Panthers scored the last four points of the quarter on a basket by Rylie Stiles and Taylor Smith.
-CSU-Pueblo scored on back-to-back three's to start the second quarter increasing their lead to 23-14 at the 7:49 mark. The lead moved to double digits at 30-19 after Molly Rohrer hit two free throws at the 4:53 mark. Smith scored just before halftime as DU went into the locker room down 34-27.
-The Thunderwolves built their lead up to 45-29 at the 6:35 mark of the third quarter. Severn converted a three-point play at the 5:15 mark to cut it to 45-34. DU cut it further down to seven (47-40) on a Smith layup with 3:50 left in the quarter. The Panthers ended the quarter trailing 54-43 after Stiles split at the line with 38 seconds left.
-The Panthers have shown some fight in the fourth quarter this season and that continued with five straight points by Jenna Falkenberg. Severn made a layup and Kortney Deurloo followed as DU trailed 54-52 with 4:46 to play. Rohrer made a pair at the line with 2:34 remaining to give CSU-Pueblo a 58-54 lead. Jones then made a clutch triple to push the lead up to 61-54 with 1:55 left. Merz drove in for two at the 1:30 mark and Severn canned a three with 54 ticks left for a 61-59 deficit. Rohrer's layup on the next possession made it a two-score game with 38 seconds to go. DU could not score for the remainder of the game and four free throws later it was the final tally of 67-59.

INSIDE THE BOX
-Davenport struggled to find their shot going 22-of-64 from the floor. The defense kept them in it allowing 36.5 percent shooting by CSU-Pueblo. The free throw line was the key stat as the Thunderwolves were 25-of-30 compared to 11-of-20 by Davenport.
-Severn scored eight of her team-high 15 points in the second half. She went 5-of-17 from the floor overall and 2-of-10 behind the arc. Severn led the team with nine rebounds and played 33 minutes.
-Merz finished with nine points, four rebounds and two assists also in 33 minutes.
-Smith had a season-high eight points and two steals in 17 minutes.
-Rohrer finished with 20 points for the Thunderwolves going 10-of-10 at the charity stripe.
-Katie Cunningham added eight points, 12 rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes for CSU-Pueblo.

UP NEXT
The team will have an extended break for the Thanksgiving holiday and will be home for their GLIAC opener on Nov. 30 against fellow GLIAC newcomer Purdue Northwest. The game will tip at 5:30 p.m. at the DU Student Center.