GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport women's basketball team finally got a home conference game on Thursday night as they entertained Saginaw Valley State. The Panthers, in search of their first conference win, could not string together enough consistent offensive possessions and came out cold. DU trailed 18-10 after the first quarter and shot 2-of-5 behind the arc and 1-of-7 inside the arc to fall behind.
Mary Liedel made a three-pointer for Davenport's first points at 7:36 of the first quarter for a 3-2 lead. That however was the only lead of the game for the Panthers as the Cardinals scored the next 11 points to take a 13-3 lead with 2:59 left in the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, the SVSU lead hovered around the 8-12 point range before
Alexa Kolnitys made a three-pointer with seven seconds until halftime to make it 25-19. Kaitlyn Zarycki pushed the ball upcourt and hit a running jumper at the horn to give SVSU a 27-19 halfime lead. The Cardinals shot 11-of-29 from the floor in the first half while the Panthers were 6-of-20.
The highest scoring quarter was the third but SVSU extended their lead with a 23-17 edge. The defense ramped back up on both sides in the fourth quarter as SVSU outscored DU 12-10 for a final score of 62-46. DU tied their season low in points and have now dropped eight straight against the Cardinals.
Tori DePerry had an efficient game going 7-of-12 from the floor and finished with 18 points for SVSU.
Scout Nelson led the Panthers with 12 points and made both of her triple tries. Nelson also led the team with seven rebounds and two assists.
Makenna Bryant scored 11 points, one shy of her season high, and hit double-digit points for the fourth time this season. Liedel finished with nine points and five rebounds in 31 minutes and got her first start of the season.
