DETROIT, Mich. – The Davenport women's basketball team concluded a three-game week and fatigue may have played a factor in a 43-36 loss to the Warriors. The GLIAC South foes once again were locked in a defensive battle after combining for 84 points in their previous meeting this season. Wayne State made just enough plays on offense to avenge the earlier season loss to Davenport (43-41) back on December 16. The Panthers slip to 7-12 overall and 5-7 in the GLIAC, while Wayne State won their seventh in a row and are 14-4 overall and 9-3 in the GLIAC.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The first quarter featured a total of five field goals as Davenport went 3-of-12 from the floor and Wayne State went 2-of-15.
Hannah Wilkerson scored the first points at 9:34 and then neither team scored until 5:12 when Nastassja Chambers made a pair of free throws. Chambers got a basket at 4:44 and Payton Birchmeier scored at 3:07, but the Warriors could not score after that.
Amanda Merz tied the game at four apiece at the 4:32 mark.
Martyna Pioro scored two points at 2:47 and
Taylor Smith split at the line at 1:31. Davenport led 7-6 after 10 minutes.
-The Warriors got off to a better start in the second quarter with the first five points to lead 11-7. Wilkerson connected on a three-pointer at 5:14 for DU's first points of the quarter. The game was tied at 14 when the Warriors scored five straight points to lead 19-14 at the 1:54 mark after a Shannon Wilson layup. Merz scored the final points before halftime with 49 seconds on the clock and Davenport trailed 19-16.
-Davenport could not cut much into the deficit in the third quarter. The Warriors got a bucket from Wilson at 7:58 to take a 24-16 lead. WSU then took their largest lead of 11 points (31-20) at the 2:14 mark on a Chambers jumper. The Panthers had a climb ahead of them trailing 31-22 after three quarters.
-Davenport went on a 11-0 run including the first nine points of the fourth quarter to tie it at 31 with 5:07 to play.
Ashley Cline made the first basket of the quarter at 9:05 and then Pioro connected on a triple at 8:14.
Jenna Falkenberg made a layup at 5:37 and again at 5:07 for the fifth tie of the game. Wayne State took the lead for good after that DU run by scoring the next five points including a Chambers jumper for a 36-31 lead with 3:42 left. Merz scored the next three points for DU who trailed 36-34 with 2:39 left. Chambers came up big with a layup with 53 seconds to go for a four-point lead. Wilson then hit a pair of free throws for a 40-34 lead with 23 seconds to go.
Taylor Smith made a layup with nine seconds left to snap a two-plus minute scoring drought for DU. Ja'Nae Williams sealed it for WSU with two free throws on the next possession.
INSIDE THE BOX
-The 36 points by Davenport is the lowest in school history. The Panthers shot 27.1 percent for the game but was better than Wayne State's 26.3 percent. Davenport had 20 turnovers that were turned into 15 Wayne State points.
-The Panthers made a season-low two free throws and shot a season-low 28.6 percent at the charity stripe. DU outrebounded WSU by a 48-42 advantage including 16 offensive rebounds.
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Emily Severn was held without a point for the first time in her last 65 games. She led the team in scoring coming into the game with 12.3 points per game. She finished 0-of-6 from the floor including 0-of-5 behind the arc.
-Falkenberg scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds. She also blocked two shots in 26 minutes. Pioro led the team with nine points and two assists in 27 minutes.
UP NEXT
-The Panthers will be at home twice this upcoming week as they welcome Tiffin on Thursday, Feb. 1 and No. 1 Ashland on Saturday, Feb. 3.