GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport women's basketball team completed the first half of their conference schedule on Thursday night with a 68-55 defeat against Purdue Northwest at the Student Center. The Pride were able to get hot from behind the arc finishing 10-for-19 and led for 37:03 of game time as they picked up their sixth win overall and third win in the GLIAC. Purdue Northwest was also able to take both games of the season series in the process. Abbie McDowell was the unsung hero for the Pride as she scored a game-high 19 points which was 10 points over her season average. McDowell connected on 7-for-13 from the floor including 5-for-8 behind the arc. She also grabbed nine rebounds in 26-plus minutes. For the Panthers, they got a season-high nine points off the bench from
Emily Lange. She played just over 16 minutes and went 4-for-7 from the floor.
The first quarter saw the Pride jump out to an 11-2 lead in the first five minutes. The Panthers then would not let the Pride score for the final 5:25 of the quarter. They went on a 10-0 run during that span to lead 12-11 after 10 minutes. Purdue Northwest got the first bucket of the second quarter on a Dash Shaw three-pointer 20 seconds in and would hold a lead for the rest of the contest. Purdue Northwest led 28-19 with 3:40 left until halftime and scored the last six points of the quarter to take a 36-23 lead into the locker room. The Pride went 7-for-8 from the floor including 5-for-6 from the arc to end the quarter.
The Panthers got the deficit into single digits at a nine-point spread twice in the third quarter, but the Pride kept the Panthers at arms length and led 52-38 heading into the final quarter. Davenport had one last surge in the first 2:10 of the fourth quarter and cut the deficit to 55-48 after a
Kenzie Wilkinson corner triple. DU had four chances to further cut into the lead but could not convert and that changed the fortunes for good. The lead grew to 61-48 with 3:16 to play but a stretch of 5:01 without a point for the Panthers sealed their fate.
Toni Grace led the team with 14 points and hit double figures for the fifth straight game.
Scout Nelson finished with eight points, five assists, and four rebounds in 36 minutes.
Kendal Swartout had a season-high eight points in 13 minutes and was 3-for-3 overall and 2-for-2 behind the arc. Davenport finished 34.5 percent from the floor and were 5-for-12 from deep and 10-for-16 at the free throw line. Purdue Northwest shot 51 percent overall and were 8-for-12 at the foul line. Davenport had a 21-9 edge in points off turnovers and 10-2 advantage in fast-break points.
