GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport women's basketball team has a 5-1 record at home this season and they hope to continue that trend this week as they welcome Saginaw Valley State on Thursday and Wayne State on Saturday. After playing their first five conference games on the road, the Panthers will now play seven of their next nine games at the DU Student Center.

The Panthers are looking to snap a seven-game skid against the Cardinals in their first GLIAC home game of the season after five straight on the road. The Panthers will need to establish a more consistent offense as they have not scored more than 57 points in a game over the last five meetings versus SVSU. The Cardinals picked up two wins last season coming on Dec. 4 in Grand Rapids (68-39) and Feb. 24 in Univ. Center (65-57). During the Dec. 4 matchup, DU shot 22.6 percent from the field while SVSU shot 45.6 percent. The rematch on Feb. 24 proved to be more competitive as Scout Nelson scored 11 points to go with five rebounds and three steals. Lillee Gustafson added 10 points and eight rebounds. The Cardinals are looking to end a five-game losing streak heading into the game.

The Warriors were able to take both games last season over DU by scores of 58-50 on Dec. 2 in Grand Rapids and 74-35 on Feb. 26 in Detroit. Wayne State was able to pull out the win in Grand Rapids by outscoring the Panthers 19-11 in the fourth quarter after the game was tied through three quarters. Scout Nelson led DU with 13 points and got her first career double-double with 11 rebounds. DU struggled from deep going 3-of-23 and both teams were able to secure 43 rebounds. The Warrior defense was on display in the rematch in Detroit holding the Panthers to 18.5 percent (12-of-65) from the floor. WSU shot 41 percent (25-of-61) from the floor and grabbed an incredible 58 rebounds.

● Purdue Northwest 76, Davenport 68 (Jan. 5)

Davenport women's basketball got big contributions from Lillee Gustafson and Scout Nelson on Thursday night at Purdue Northwest in a 76-68 loss to the Pride. The Pride picked up their first GLIAC win (1-4) while Davenport is still looking for their first win in the conference (0-4). 

Gustafson and Nelson combined to score 50 of their team's 68 points in the loss. They were a combined 18-of-27 from the floor but the rest of the team shot 7-of-34 from the floor. Davenport really struggled to find their shooting touch from behind the arc going 1-of-14.

The contest featured six ties and four lead changes. Davenport trailed 33-31 at halftime and were outscored 23-16 in the third quarter which proved to be the difference. 

● Parkside 80, Davenport 66 (Jan. 7)

The Davenport women's basketball team found themselves in a battle into the fourth quarter at Parkside (7-7, 4-2 GLIAC) on Saturday before the Rangers pulled ahead for an 80-66 victory. DU tralied 60-59 with 7:52 left in the game after a jumper by Scout Nelson. The bad news was that the Rangers outscored the Panthers 20-7 for the rest of the game en route to the conference win. Davenport ended up being outscored 22-9 in the fourth quarter making 3-of-13 from the floor. Parkside shot 7-of-13 from the floor in the final quarter and also made 7-of-10 at the free throw line.

Parkside finished the game shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and came out red-hot shooting 10-of-16 in the first quarter. Davenport had their best shooting quarter in the third going 8-of-14. Lillee Gustafson recorded yet another double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds and ranks in the top 20 nationally this season in NCAA Division II in double-doubles. Mary Liedel registered a season-high 18 points off the bench in 29 minutes. She shot 7-of-10 from the floor including 4-of-6 behind the arc. DU improved dramatically from the arc going 9-of-20 after making just one triple on Thursday in the loss at Purdue Northwest.

Makenna Bryant connected on 3-of-5 from deep and finished with nine points in 15 minutes. Ellie Toney finished with nine points and four rebounds. Reigning GLIAC Player of the Year Alyssa Nelson led all scorers with 22 points and also had three steals for the Rangers. Paty Gallasova was right on her heels with 20 points and also had seven assists and six rebounds.

LIVE COVERAGE
Thursday, Jan. 12 vs. Saginaw Valley State (5:30 PM) - Live Video (FloSports) - Live Stats
Saturday, Jan. 14 vs. Wayne State (1:00 PM) - Live Video (FloSports) - Live Stats