ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The fourth quarter proved to be the difference on Friday afternoon in Davenport's 70-59 season-opening loss at Maryville. The Panthers trailed by just two entering the fourth quarter and were outscored 21-12. The Panthers led 30-24 at halftime before the Saints found their offense in the second half outscoring the Panthers 46-29.
The start of the season couldn't have gone much better as the Panthers raced out to an 8-0 lead. Freshman
Ellie Toney got her first career basket and the team's first points of the season just 21 seconds into the game. Toney scored again for a 4-0 lead and
Jaci Walker and
Lillee Gustafson also scored a field goal before the Saints finally scored at the free throw line 4:40 into the game for their first points. We will get back to free throw shooting in a little bit.
Scout Nelson connected on a layup off an offensive rebound to give DU a 10-4 lead at the 3:34 mark, but that lead began to shrink as the Saints took their first lead at 13-12 with 36 seconds left in the quarter. The teams were tied at 14 through 10 minutes as DU shot 7-of-16 from the floor.
In the second quarter, there were lead changes and ties between the teams. The game was deadlocked at 22 with 3:54 left until halftime when the Panthers used an 8-2 run to close out the quarter and led 30-24 at intermission. The Panthers shot even better in the second quarter going 8-of-15 from the floor. Gustafson had 10 points and eight rebounds at the break. DU could not their touch behind the arc in the first 20 minutes going 0-of-7.
Davenport grew their lead to 37-28 at 6:21 of the third quarter when
Mary Liedel canned a triple, but Maryville started to convert on offense and finished the final 6:21 with 21 points to take a 49-47 lead. Carsyn Fearday had eight points in the third quarter for the Saints who shot 10-of-18 from the floor and committed just one turnover.
Davenport would not have a fourth-quarter lead and did tie the game at 49 and 51 early in the final quarter. The Panthers were still within striking distance late in the game but the tide seemed to turn when Rylee Mulvaney banked in a three-point shot from a tough angle and the excuse-me bucket gave Maryville a 65-58 lead with 1:50 left in the game. The Saints hit free throws from that point and pulled away for the 11-point victory.
Two very telling stats in this one were turnovers and free throws. The Panthers did not take care of the ball with 25 turnovers compared to just eight by the Saints. Maryville scored 22 points off those turnovers. Maryville also finished 22-of-28 at the free throw line while Davenport had just five attempts total and didn't attempt a free throw until early in the fourth quarter.
Gustafson finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks in 36 minutes. Liedel in her debut after redshirting last season finished with a team-high 16 points on 7-of-15 from the floor and made a pair of triples. Toney finished with 10 points, four rebounds, and a steal in her debut but was limited to 18 minutes due to foul trouble.
Alexa Kolnitys in her debut had seven points, two rebounds, and two assists. Davenport finished 27-of-59 from the floor (45.8 percent) while Maryville was 22-of-62 (35.5 percent). The Panthers are back on the court tomorrow with a 2 PM ET tip against Missouri-St. Louis. The Tritons lost 81-55 in their opener also today against No. 1 Grand Valley State.
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