GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - It was hard to get a basket on Thursday night as Davenport pushed third-ranked Grand Valley State all night before falling 54-44 at the DU Student Center. The Panthers held the Lakers to their second-lowest shooting percentage of the season (30.2) and their fourth-lowest point total. In the end, they themselves just could not score in critical moments going 30 percent from the floor. The biggest difference was at the free throw line where GVSU went 19-of-29 compared to 11-of-13 for the Panthers. DU shot their second-best free throw percentage of the season (84.6). Both teams were identical 3-of-16 from the arc. DU had gone five straight games within committing 20-plus turnovers, but coughed it up 21 times which led to 17 points by the Lakers. GVSU also had 10 second-chance points compared to two for Davenport.
GVSU led 12-10 after one quarter and there was one lead change as DU led for 6:21 of the quarter. DU had a 17-12 lead early in the second quarter scoring the first seven points. The Lakers then went on a 10-0 run and did not allow the Panthers to score for 7:12 of game time before
Makenna Bryant hit the second of two free throws. Qay Stanton hit a layup with six seconds left in the first half to give GVSU a 25-20 halftime lead.
The third quarter was really a defensive strangehold as both teams combined to score 15 points. GVSU led by as many as just four points on two occasions including 32-28 at the end of the quarter. Hannah Kulas had a pair of free throws with 37 seconds left in the quarter for that four-point lead. Grand Valley State went 1-for-12 shooting and Davenport went 3-for-10 shooting in the third quarter.
The Lakers began to pull away in the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run in the first 3:40. Ellie Droste scored eight points in that stretch after being held in check. Rylie Bisballe capped the run with a bucket on a driving layup for the 43-30 lead. DU battled until the end cutting the deficit to single digits at 53-44 with 14 seconds left after a triple by
Kendal Swartout.
Droste led all scorers with 15 points going 8-of-10 at the free throw line and also grabbed five rebounds.
Lillee Gustafson led DU with 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds (five offensive).
Kenzie Wilkinson had seven points, eight boards, and two blocked shots. DU's leading scorer
Toni Grace was held to four points and went 0-of-7 from the floor. DU will have their final home game this season against Northwood on Monday at 6:00 p.m.
