GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Davenport women's basketball team played their second home game of the season and the first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game in school history on Thursday (Nov. 30). The Panthers took on fellow GLIAC newcomer Purdue-Northwest and the visiting Pride picked up the 63-59 win. Purdue-Northwest improved to 1-4 overall, 1-0 in the GLIAC while Davenport falls to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Pride opened up the contest on a 12-4 run in the first four minutes. Shae Rhonehouse's three-pointer at the 6:06 mark of the first quarter gave the Pride an eight-point advantage. Martyna Pioro scored five straight points for the Panthers to cut the deficit to 15-9 at the 3:54 mark. Jenna Falkenberg followed with back-to-back buckets and Amanda Merz nailed a pair of free throws to tie it at 15 with under a minute left in the opening quarter. Merz then canned a triple off the glass with five seconds in the quarter as DU led by three, 18-15, after 10 minutes.
-Purdue-Northwest regained the lead early in the second quarter 22-18 at the 5:24 mark as Ellie Michalski converted a layup inside. The low-scoring quarter saw just 20 combined points and nine for the Panthers. DU scored six of the last eight points of the quarter to lead 27-26 at halftime.
-The Panthers built a 32-28 lead early in the third quarter as Pioro made a triple in the corner. The score was tied four times in the third quarter before Davenport pulled ahead 46-42 as Merz split at the foul line. Purdue-Northwest got a backcourt break with a foul and Taylor Vauters made two free throws with one second left in the quarter.
-Davenport's two-point lead heading into the final quarter was erased in the first 2:30 of the quarter. The Pride led 53-49 at the 7:34 mark on a Michalski basket. Kelsey Crockett answered with a three off the window from the top of the arc. Michaela Kikendall answered with a triple at the 6:32 mark to regain a four-point lead. The 10th tie of the contest occurred with 4:13 remaining and Hannah Wilkerson's second free throw gave DU a 57-56 lead.
-Taylor Smith hit a jumper just outside the lane with 3:34 left to give Davenport a 59-56 lead. However, it was the last time they would score in the game as the Pride scored the final seven points to claim the 63-59 victory. Rhonehouse scored four of those points and Kikendall made a big three from the left wing with 29 seconds to go for the final margin.

INSIDE THE BOX
-Neither team could find much of an offensive rhythm as Davenport shot 30.1 percent compared to 33.8 percent for the Pride. Purdue-Northwest made 22-of-65 from the floor including 8-of-25 beyond the arc. DU went 22-of-73 from the floor including 8-of-28 behind the long line.
-Crockett set a career-high with seven rebounds and added five points.
-Merz set a career-high with six steals and tied for team-high honors with 14 points. She also had six assists and five rebounds in 39 minutes.
-Pioro set a career-high with 14 points and four three-pointers. She went 4-of-7 behind the arc and had two assists in 27 minutes.
-Falkenberg set a season-high with 13 rebounds and added eight points in just 14 minutes.
-Michalski had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. She went 9-of-15 from the floor and also added three blocks and three steals.
-Rhonehouse led all scorers with 21 points going 7-of-8 at the free throw stripe.

UP NEXT
-The Panthers have a quick turnaround as they will face West Michigan foe Grand Valley State (6-1, 1-0 GLIAC) on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 1 p.m. After the conclusion of the contest, there will be a free throw contest featuring Dr. Richard Pappas of Davenport and Dr. Thomas Haas of Grand Valley State.