GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport women's basketball did not know what to expect coming into the rugged Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Panthers scratched and clawed all season long under first-year head coach Rick Albro and the end result was finishing eighth in the conference standings and earning a spot in the GLIAC Tournament. First-year programs are not supposed to have a lot of success moving from NAIA to NCAA Division II, but the Panthers making the tournament proves they are heading in the right direction.

Davenport (8-19, 6-14 GLIAC) has the task now of trying to pull off a historic upset against top-seed and nation No. 1 Ashland University. The Eagles are a perfect 28-0 this season and were 20-0 in the GLIAC. They enter the postseason riding an NCAA Division II record 65-game win streak and haven't lost in the regular season over the last two seasons. The teams have met twice earlier this season. Ashland won 96-50 at home on December 9 and followed that with a 107-85 win in Grand Rapids on February 3. The Panthers shot 44.4 percent in those games while the Eagles shot 50.9 percent. The biggest advantage was first half scoring as AU outscored DU, 112-49. In the second half, that margin was just 91-86. Emily Severn averaged 16.5 points in those contests while Amanda Merz recorded 11 assists and just five turnovers against Ashland's relentless pressure defense.

Team Overall Statistics

Category	Davenport	Ashland
Points/Game	58.0	102.2
Rebounds/Game	35.3	40.2
Assists/Game	13.0	25.3
Steals/Game	9.9	17.4
Blocks/Game	4.2	3.6
FG Pct.	39.0 (607-1,558)	51.8 (1,047-2,023)
3-FG Pct.	28.5 (138-484)	40.5 (242-598)
FT Pct.	61.9 (213-344)	81.8 (526-643)

Individual Overall Leaders

Category	Davenport	Ashland
Points/Game	Emily Severn (12.1)	Jodi Johnson (19.5)
Rebounds/Game	Jenna Falkenberg (8.4)	Laina Snyder (8.1)
Assists/Game	Amanda Merz (3.6)	Renee Stimpert (6.6)
Steals/Game	Amanda Merz (2.7)	Jodi Johnson (4.0)
Blocks/Game	Jenna Falkenberg (2.1)	Sara Loomis (1.3)
FG Pct.	Jenna Falkenberg (52.1)	Sarah Hart (63.2)
3-FG Pct.	Emily Severn (33.3)	Jodi Johnson (59.6)
FT Pct.	Hannah Wilkerson (81.3)	Andi Daugherty (89.3)

GLIAC Tournament Website

Follow the action live by clicking on the links below!
Wednesday, February 28 - 5:30 p.m. - Kates Gymnasium (Ashland, Ohio)
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