GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The season began on Friday for the women's basketball team as they hosted Maryville. The game came down to the second half and the Saints outscored the Panthers, 43-26, to prevail 72-59 at the DU Student Center.

Davenport led 33-29 at halftime and was shooting the ball particularly well from behind the arc. DU was 4-for-6 in the first quarter and 3-for-7 in the second quarter. The Panthers built a 16-8 lead at the 2:58 mark of the first quarter on a three-pointer by Toni Grace. That was the largest lead of the game for Davenport. Maryville scored the final four points of the quarter for a 16-12 lead after 10 minutes.

Maryville would regain the lead 21-19 at the 7:32 mark of the second quarter after Antoinette Mussorici hit a three-pointer in transition. Davenport would score the next five points to take a 24-21 lead as Kenzie Wilkinson buried a triple from the top of the key. The back-and-forth affair saw Maryville tie the game at 24-24 but then the Panthers took another lead at 31-26 after an Ajai Simmons fast-break lay-up.

In the third quarter, the teams were tied at 39-39 at the 4:22 mark when the Saints began to make a run. They led 50-43 late in the third and took a 50-46 lead into the fourth quarter. The lead began to swell to double figures at 58-47 with 7:42 remaining and DU was able to score just one point in the first 4:35 of the quarter. The Saints would keep a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

Davenport shot 33.9 percent overall for the game (20-of-59) and the Saints shot 40 percent (24-of-60). The Panthers were 10-of-22 behind the arc and 10-of-37 inside the arc. DU was also 9-of-13 from the free throw line compared to 14-of-18 for Maryville. Mussorici led all scorers with 22 points and also had five assists and four rebounds. Simmons led the team in scoring for DU in her first game as a Panther with 17 points. She was 7-of-15 from the floor (3-of-4 from three) with five steals. Lillee Gustafson in her first collegiate game led the team with 10 rebounds and had five points and two steals. Scout Nelson had six points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals.

The Panthers will be back at home tomorrow (Nov. 13) against Missouri-St. Louis with a tip time set for 1:00 p.m.