GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Sometimes it just isn't your day. The Davenport women's basketball team struggled to make shots on Friday and lost 62-46 against Findlay in their home opener. Davenport (1-2) played the Oilers dead even in the second and fourth quarters, but were outscored 37-21 in the first and third quarters.
Freshman
Ellie Toney came out firing and scored the team's first eight points including a pair of triples as DU took an 8-4 lead at the 7:17 mark of the first quarter. Then the Panthers went cold as the Oilers went on a 15-0 run over the next six-plus minutes to take a 19-8 lead with 1:55 left in the quarter.
Makenna Bryant ended the run with a jumper in the paint to make it 19-10 and that is how the first quarter ended.
Bryant canned a triple at 7:25 of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 20-13, but the Panthers could not get any closer than seven points including 26-19 on a
Lillee Gustafson layup with 44 seconds left until halftime. Findlay led 28-19 at the break and then scored first in the third quarter on a three-pointer by Lauren Hapgood to lead 31-19. Bryant made one of two free throws at 6:08 of the quarter to make it 37-30, but then another cold spell by the Panthers occurred as they did not score for the rest of the quarter and trailed 46-30.
The fourth quarter saw the Oilers build their lead to 23 points at the 5:36 mark and then the Panthers got it down to 13 at 59-46 with 1:53 left in the game. Findlay outscored the Panthers, 18-8, in points off turnovers and got 30 points off their bench compared to 15 for Davenport.
Toney finished as the only Panther in double figures with 11 points and made 3-of-4 from the arc. She also had four rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 32 minutes. Gustafson scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 31 minutes. Davenport finished 29.8 percent from the floor including 26.1 percent from the arc. They also shot just 6-of-16 at the free throw line.
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