SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Davenport women's basketball team is no stranger to the national scene and that experience played a key role in an 80-73 win over Saint Francis (Ind.) in the first round of the 2017 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship.

The Panthers field a veteran squad while the Cougars see freshmen play significant minutes and down the stretch the experience paid off for Davenport. Senior Lauren Brower had not scored in double figures since Nov. 19 versus Aquinas but made four triples and three free throws to finish with a season-high 15 points. Junior Emily Severn led the team in scoring with 19 points and also made four triples in seven attempts. Severn finished 6-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-4 at the foul line. Senior Mallory Sewell posted up down low and had a strong second half to finish with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Sewell also had three assists, four rebounds and just one turnover. Junior Hannah Wilkerson came off the bench and battled foul trouble, but scored 12 points including 5-of-7 at the line. Sophomore Amanda Merz led the team with seven rebounds and also had six points and four assists with zero turnovers.

Davenport led 21-13 after the first quarter and started the contest going 7-of-11 behind the arc. The Cougars were down 10 early in the second quarter and cut the deficit to 25-20 on a basket by Kara Gerka. Saint Francis trailed by four points on two occasions in the quarter and Momo Neal made a pair of free throws with 1:16 left as DU led 35-29 at intermission.

Davenport took over a double-digit lead at the 4:17 mark of the third quarter after Severn split at the line. The lead increased to 12 (57-45) on a Wilkerson basket with 1:27 left in the quarter. DU led by nine entering the fourth quarter but the Cougars cut it to 61-57 on a Gerka basket with 7:50 left to play. Severn then shifted momentum after a timeout with a four-point play increasing the lead back to 69-60. The Panthers seemed to have an answer to every Saint Francis surge as the Cougars got within five twice and four once in the final minutes. Gerka's basket in the paint made it 77-73 with 20 seconds to go and then Brower calmly made both free throws on the other end to secure the first round win.

Davenport will play again at 8:30 a.m. CT on Friday, March 10 against the winner of Jamestown (N.D.)/Oregon Tech who are scheduled to play today at 1:45 p.m. CT.