GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport women's basketball team played their hearts out on Tuesday against 15th-ranked Grand Valley State in a 77-60 defeat. The Panthers were right on the doorsteps into the fourth quarter but the Lakers kept making shots to propel them into a bigger lead. DU trailed 53-50 heading into the final quarter and scored the first basket at 8:43 to trail by one point at 53-52. The Lakers then scored five straight points before DU could connect on a three-pointer by Toni Grace at the 6:44 mark to trail 58-55. The Panthers were within striking distance heading out of the final media timeout with 4:56 remaining down 64-57. Grand Valley State went on a 16-0 run from the 5:31 mark until the 47-second mark after Scout Nelson nailed a triple to make it the final score of 77-60. Grand Valley State had three different traditional three-point plays during the run. Davenport shot 22.2 percent in the fourth quarter while the Lakers shot 57.1 percent and went 3-of-4 from the arc after going 4-of-17 through the first three quarters.

DU trailed 23-9 after the first quarter and began to claw back in the second quarter outscoring the Lakers 16-11. The Panthers also outscored the Lakers 25-19 in the third quarter and shot 10-of-15 from the floor including 4-of-7 beyond the arc. The Lakers went inside during their fourth quarter run for the most part and ended the game with a 38-14 advantage in points in the paint. Davenport is now 2-5 overall and finished the game shooting 34.8 percent. They only were able to get to the free throw line four times and made three. That was a stark contrast from going 31-of-33 at Purdue Northwest last Saturday and negated a strength for the Panthers who entered the game shooting 81.8 percent as a team.

Toni Grace led all scorers with 19 points for Davenport and has scored in double figures every game this season. Grace went 6-of-13 from the floor including 4-of-7 behind the arc. Grace also had three steals, two assists and two rebounds in 29 minutes. Loni Sales scored 13 points to go with four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Scout Nelson added 11 points, four assists and two steals in 33 minutes. The Panthers set a season-high with 11 three-pointers as five different players connected on at least one. Emily Spitzley recorded a double-double for the Lakers with 16 points and 10 rebounds.