Box Score MARQUETTE, Mich. - It was a tale of two halves on Thursday night at Berry Events Center on the campus of Northern Michigan University. The Panthers built a 35-23 halftime lead only to see the Wildcats surge back with a plus-20 differential in the second half for a 69-61 victory.
Davenport was doing damage in the first half from behind the arc shooting 50 percent in each of the first two quarters. Northern Michigan led 8-3 early but the Panthers scored the next seven points to take a 10-8 lead at the 2:42 mark of the first quarter.
Amanda Merz and
Jenna Falkenberg ended the quarter with back-to-back triples for a 16-12 lead. It was the first three-pointer of the season for Falkenberg.
DU led 23-18 at the media timeout in the second quarter and then ended the quarter on a 12-5 run.
Toni Grace and
Haley Gibbons each nailed a triple in the final 1:26 of the quarter for the 12-point lead by Davenport at halftime.
Northern Michigan, the leader in the GLIAC North, showed why in the second half by mounting a comeback. The Wildcats trailed 43-31 at the 6:46 mark of the third and then put together a 10-0 run at the 3:21 mark to force a 30-second timeout by Davenport.
Courtney McInerney responded with a triple after the timeout to extend the lead to 46-41. The Wildcats trailed 48-45 heading into the fourth quarter and tied the game on a three-pointer by Sydney Dillinger to start the final quarter.
NMU increased their lead to 53-48 at the 7:35 mark to force another DU timeout. Tess Weatherly canned a three to make it 59-51 with 5:16 to play before Grace had a three-point play to make it 59-54 with 3:36 left.
Martyna Pioro cut the lead to 61-57 with a three at the 2:16 mark. The Wildcats then made eight free throws from that moment to finish with the eight-point win.
Davenport finished 22-of-48 from the floor including 13-of-29 from the arc to establish a new season-high for made triples. The Panthers were 4-of-4 at the foul line while the Wildcats trotted to the line 21 times and made 15. The foul discrepancy was daunting with the visiting Panthers whistled 23 times compared to just 8 for the Wildcats. Grace led the team with 15 points (3-4 3's) and also had four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Falkenberg scored 12 points and grabbed five boards. She also finished with three blocked shots in 32 minutes. Pioro had 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.
