GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The sixth-ranked Davenport women's basketball team captured the outright Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference title on Wednesday with a hard-fought 66-62 win over Madonna. The Crusaders gave DU a scare earlier this season in Livonia before the Panthers pulled out a 98-96 win in overtime. Madonna once again took the Panthers to the wire but DU improved to 25-2 overall and 19-0 in the WHAC while posting their 11th straight win.
The stars of the game were seniors
Molly Babbs and
Mallory Sewell who each had a double-double in points and rebounds. Babbs grabbed a season-high 17 boards and scored 15 points. She now has seventh double-doubles this season and also shot 7-of-10 from the floor with three assists and three blocks. Sewell went 6-of-15 from the floor and finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Junior
Emily Severn connected on 3-of-10 from the arc and had 13 points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes.
Davenport had a red-hot first quarter shooting 68.8 percent (11-of-16) and led 24-14. The next three quarters however saw the Panthers shoot less than 30 percent in each quarter allowing Madonna back into the game. The Crusaders could not find their range shooting 1-of-12 behind the arc. They also struggled at the foul line going 5-of-13. Cris Harper led Madonna with 15 points and four assists. Kacy Robinson turned in a solid effort with 11 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.
The Panthers led for 37:26 of the 40 minutes and Madonna led for just 58 seconds. Davenport's largest lead was 15 points with 8:20 left in the second quarter. The Crusaders then went on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 31-27 with 45 seconds left until halftime.
Hannah Wilkerson scored on the fast break as time expired to give DU a 33-27 lead at the break. Madonna was within one possession of tying the game twice in the third quarter and Davenport would then put distance between themselves and Madonna. The Panthers went on a 10-4 run in the last 3:25 of the third quarter for a 54-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Madonna tied the game at 58 for the first time with 4:44 left capping off a 13-2 run on a Robinson layup. Severn then hit a clutch triple in transition and Sewell converted back-to-back shots for a 65-60 lead with 3:14 left. Miranda Fuerst scored on the next possession for the Crusaders to get within a possession and then both teams would not score for nearly two and a half minutes before Babbs split at the line with 13 seconds to go for the 66-62 final score. DU improved to 26-7 all-time versus Madonna.
