GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Panthers opened up conference play by playing Purdue Northwest. The Pride took the series lead 2-1 with a 77-76 win. Davenport had a chance to win this game late, but a last second shot rolled out. The team is now .500 with a 4-4 record and will face Parkside in their next game on Saturday.
 
THE BASICS
Final Score: Davenport-76 | Purdue Northwest-77
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich.
 
POINTS PER HALF
First Quarter: DU-25 | PNW-23
Second Quarter: DU-21 | PNW-19
Third Quarter: DU-14 | PNW-19
Fourth Quarter: DU-16 | PNW-16
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
There was a lot of excitement coming into this game, with it being the conference opener and senior Jenna Falkenberg getting back on the court for the first time this season. Falkenberg scored the opening points for DU on a layup. Davenport built up a 12-4 lead about halfway into the first quarter, but Purdue scored five unanswered down the stretch to cut the lead to two.
 
The second quarter was close throughout, with Purdue Northwest taking the lead at one point. Elise Scaggs completed an old fashioned three-point play with one second on the clock to give Davenport a 46-42 lead at halftime.
 
The Pride opened the third quarter scoring nine consecutive points and were ahead 51-46. Davenport finally scored their first points of the half with a pair of free throws by Toni Grace 4:28 in. The game remained close and the Panthers headed into the final quarter down by a single point.
 
The Panthers held a 69-66 lead with 5:49 to play after Scaggs had back-to-back trips of hitting free throws. Purdue Northwest went on a 7-0 run and took the lead, which they never gave up the remainder of the way. Davenport clawed back and got to within one point after a pair of Scaggs free throws with 16 seconds to play. The Panthers fouled Danielle Nennig with six seconds on the clock, sending her to the free throw line. DU fans were hoping for at least one miss, but were pleasantly surprised when she missed both. After a timeout, Davenport had the ball on the offensive end with roughly six seconds to go. A late shot by Falkenberg couldn't find the mark and the Pride rebounded the miss to close the game.

STAT LEADERS
Points: Scaggs (22)
Rebounds: Falkenberg (14)
Assists: Grace (5)
Steals: Kenzie Wilkinson (3)
Blocks: Courtney McInerney (3)

PLAYERS OF THE GAME




UP NEXT
Davenport will play again on Saturday, December 7 against Parkside. The game is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.
 
Story by: Devin Steiner
 
Picture credit: Chris duMond