MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Davenport women's basketball team picked up their first-ever GLIAC Tournament win on Tuesday with a 61-45 road victory at Northern Michigan in the first round. The 10th-seeded Panthers used strong first and fourth quarters to win by double digits over the seventh-seeded Wildcats. The two teams split the regular season series and Davenport won for the first time in Marquette since Nov. 10, 2012 as a member of the NAIA and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.

It looked like an upset was in the making early in the contest as the Panthers jumped out to a 6-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. Courtney McInerney, Scout Nelson and Kenzie Wilkinson each scored two points in the run. The Wildcats cut the lead to 9-7 at the 5:47 mark, but then the Panthers scored the last nine points of the quarter and led 18-7 after a Nelson triple with 39 seconds left in the quarter.

The Wildcats cut the lead to 21-16 midway through the second quarter but then Davenport responded with five straight points on a triple by Emily Lange and a jumper by Claire Borsheim. Nelson again made the final shot of a quarter with another three with six seconds left to give DU a 29-20 halftime advantage. It was just the fourth time this season that DU led at the half.

Northern Michigan would close to within four points on three occasions in the third quarter including the end of the quarter as DU led 38-34. The Wildcats have been known for fourth quarter magic this season but not on this night. Davenport saw the Wildcats take a brief 40-38 lead and 42-41 lead early in the quarter. The Panthers then kicked up the defensive intensity and did not allow a point for 5:39 as they used a 14-0 run to take complete control and finish with the 16-point win (their largest ever over NMU).

Nelson led the Panthers in scoring for the first time this season with 18 points. She was 6-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-4 at the free throw line. Nelson also had five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Toni Grace scored 16 points including 4-of-8 behind the arc. Lange added 10 points and five rebounds. Wilkinson led the team with seven rebounds and also had five points and two steals. Ryan Harvey contributed eight points and six rebounds off the bench. DU held NMU to 31.4 percent shooting and the Wildcats were just 5-of-10 from the free throw line.

"Basketball is not a game you play perfectly," said head coach Rick Albro after the win. "We talked about next play after a mistake and play with perfect energy and that we did. It was a great team win!"

The next game for Davenport will be the GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals which take place on Thursday, March 4. Purdue Northwest will be hosting in Westville, Indiana and DU will play top-seeded Michigan Tech at noon eastern time.