UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -
Ellie Toney reached the 20-point plateau for the second time in her last three games and Davenport ended an 11-game skid against Saginaw Valley State with a 61-59 road win over the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 7). DU also was able to end a seven-game road GLIAC losing streak and even their conference record at 1-1.
Toney scored 20 points off the bench and led the team in scoring for the third straight game. She connected on 7-of-15 from the floor and also made all four of her free throws. Toney led the team with eight rebounds and also had two assists and two steals.
Nevaeh Williams was the other Panther in double figures with 10 points and also led the team with four steals and three assists.
The contest was hotly contested throughout with 13 lead changes and 12 ties. Davenport led for 22:43 while SVSU led for 10:27. Davenport's biggest lead was six points at the 2:20 mark of the third quarter, while the Cardinals largest lead was five points at the 6:48 mark of the first quarter.
Saginaw Valley State led 6-1 at the 6:48 mark of the opening quarter, but then neither team led by more than one possession until the Panthers grabbed a 16-12 advantage at the 8:52 mark of the second quarter. Incredibly, neither team then led by more than three points until the 2:20 mark when DU grabbed their 44-38 lead after a Toney triple with an assist from
Kayla Covington.
Davenport took a 45-42 lead into the fourth quarter and led until the 5:10 mark when the Cardinals tied it up at 49 after a Megan McCalla three ball. DU got a big basket from
Lillee Gustafson with 1:53 left to give the Panthers a 55-51 lead and they held on for the victory. The Davenport bench including 20 points from Toney outscored the Cardinal bench 28-2. Davenport finished shooting 39.1 percent from the floor and 79.2 percent at the free throw line.
The Panthers will take a break from conference play and welcome Lewis to the DU Student Center on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 5:30 PM.
