GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - It is the final two games of the season for the women's basketball team this week as they play Ferris State on Thursday (5:30 PM) and Lake Superior State on Saturday (1:00 PM). The Panthers could possibly finish in a tie for eighth in the GLIAC standings, but a head-to-head tiebreaker with Purdue Northwest where the Pride won both regular season games would give them the tournament berth.

The Panthers have scored exactly 55 points in the last three meetings against the Bulldogs. They will be looking to break a five-game skid after winning the very first meeting back on Jan. 6, 2018 at home (68-63). Earlier this season, the Bulldogs won 67-55 in Big Rapids on Dec. 4. Ferris State got off to a strong start and led 22-14 after one quarter. The Panthers played them pretty even over the next three quarters but couldn't overcome the slow start. Ellie Toney led DU with 13 points and grabbed six boards. Scout Nelson scored 11 points and also had six boards. Alexa Kolnitys added nine points, four rebounds, and two assists. Chloe Idoni led FSU with 15 points and also had four boards. Kenzie Bowers added 13 points, seven rebounds, and three steals.

The Panthers will be looking to break a two-game skid against the Lakers on Saturday in the season finale. The Panthers had previously won three straight against LSSU and still lead the all-time series 5-4. The bookend quarters proved to be the difference in the first meeting this season back on Dec. 1 in the Soo. LSSU outscored DU 20-10 in the first and 21-9 in the fourth. DU won the middle quarters 21-17 in the second and 19-17 in the third. Lillee Gustafson scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds before fouling out. The Lakers had a three-headed monster in the scoring department with a rare 20-point effort by Margot Woughter (21), Mattison Rayman (20), and Grace Bradford (20). Rayman and Bradford also each had a double-double with 12 and 10 rebounds respectively. LSSU shot 28-of-30 from the free throw line including 11-of-11 in the fourth quarter.

 ● Wayne State 64, Davenport 52 (Feb. 16)

Davenport led 11-10 after the end of the first quarter against the Warriors and held them to 18.8 percent from the floor in the first 10 minutes. Mary Liedel, Jaci Walker, and Makenna Bryant each nailed a three-pointer in the quarter. Wayne State went on a 9-0 run to start the second quarter and take a 19-11 lead at the 7:28 mark. DU cut the deficit to 25-23 with 50 seconds until halftime, but the Warriors got the final bucket of the first half on a Kate McArthur three-pointer as time expired. The Warriors shot 38.9 percent in the second quarter while the Panthers shot 31.3.

Wayne State built a 37-25 lead in the third quarter in the first 3:45 before a media timeout. Rebecca Fugate had seven points for the Warriors to ignite the run. WSU led 40-30 at the end of the third quarter. DU midway through the fourth quarter trailed 48-43 but could not get closer than five points which occured again with 47 seconds left at 57-52. WSU made eight free throws in a row from that point to seal the win.

Scout Nelson led DU with 14 points going 5-of-9 from the floor. Liedel finished with 12 points before fouling out and also had three rebounds. Lillee Gustafson narrowly missed another double-double with nine points and 14 rebounds (one shy of her season-high), while tying a career-high with four blocks. Claire Gregwer had her sixth start of the season and finished with eight points, six rebounds, and two steals in 23-plus minutes. 

● Saginaw Valley State 104, Davenport 59 (Feb. 18)

The women's basketball team had their final road game of the season on Saturday and the defense did not travel it appeared. The Panthers gave up a season-high 104 points in a 104-59 loss to the Cardinals. Kaitlyn Zarycki went off in one of the best performances in Division II this season. She finished with 44 points which is one of the top five scoring outputs in a game this season. Zarycki was nearly perfect going 16-of-18 from the floor (4-of-4 three's) and 8-of-8 at the free throw line. She also had eight rebounds to lead her team and a team-high five assists.

The Panthers saw themselves down 14-0 just over three minutes into the game and that slow start really told the story. They cut the deficit down to 10 at 23-13 with 1:03 left in the first quarter and later in the second quarter trailed by single digits at 27-18. Then the Cardinals went on an 11-2 run over a span of just under two minutes to take control of the game again.

Saginaw Valley State led 56-33 at the halftime break and cruised from there in the second half. The Cardinals held a 27-10 edge in points off turnovers and 19-5 in second-chance points. SVSU finished 38-of-60 from the floor which is 63.3 percent. They also went 12-of-20 from behind the arc and 16-of-22 at the free throw line.

Claire Gregwer led Davenport with 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting. She also had six rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Lillee Gustafson had 13 points but did foul out in 29 minutes of action. Mary Liedel finished with a team-high seven rebounds, five assists, and three points.

LIVE COVERAGE
Thursday, Feb. 23 vs. Ferris State (5:30 PM) - Live Video (FloSports) - Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 25 vs. Lake Superior State (1:00 PM) - Live Video (FloSports) - Live Stats