Saginaw Valley State 59, Davenport 39 - (Feb. 8)
It was the first game of a four-game road stretch for the Davenport women’s basketball team on Thursday night as they traveled to Saginaw Valley State. The Panthers dropped a 59-39 decision to the Cardinals and for the first time in program history did not score over 40 points in back-to-back games.
The Panthers scored 38 in a home loss against nationally-ranked Grand Valley State on Saturday and did not lead at any point in this one as the Cardinals swept the season series. The first quarter was all SVSU as they led 17-5. Davenport shot 2-of-17 from the floor in the quarter and started down 10-0 before a free throw by Alexa Kolnitys at the 6:32 mark. The team did not have their first field goal until the 3:21 mark on a driving layup by Jaci Walker.
The Panthers did keep it close in the second quarter as they clamped down defensively and had a 10-5 edge on the scoreboard to trail 22-15 at halftime. The Cardinals shot 2-of-7 from the floor and committed six turnovers. Davenport got five points from Makenna Bryant in the quarter and got her first start of the season.
The Cardinals had their best offensive quarter after halftime scoring 21 points in the third compared to 10 for the Panthers. DU shot 21.4 percent in the third going 3-for-14 including 1-for-7 behind the arc. SVSU shot 64.3 percent (9-for-14) to build a bigger lead heading into the fourth quarter. Victoria Stafford and Aleshia Jones each scored five points in the quarter for the Cardinals.
A 15-point deficit was the closest that DU would get in the final quarter and the Cardinals led by as many as 23 with 30 seconds left. Davenport finished the game shooting a season low 19.7 percent including 2-for-20 behind the arc. SVSU shot 42 percent and was 5-for-17 from the arc. Lillee Gustafson had a season-high 16 rebounds for DU including 11 offensive boards. Walker led the team with nine points off the bench in 21 minutes.
Wayne State 84, Davenport 61 - (Feb. 10)
The women’s basketball team was looking to get back in the win column on Saturday afternoon as they visited the Motor City for a tilt with Wayne State. The Panthers and Warriors went into overtime in the previous meeting this season, but the Warriors left little doubt in this one with an 84-61 win to improve to 15-7 overall and 8-5 in the GLIAC. Davenport falls to 3-19 overall and 1-11 in the conference.
Ellie Toney was one point shy of her season high with 21 points to lead the Panthers. Toney scored 20-plus points for the second time this season and the third time in her career. She finished 6-for-8 from the field including 3-for-4 from the arc, while also going 6-for-6 at the free throw line in 27-plus minutes. Toney also had four rebounds, three assists, and one blocked shot. Jaci Walker scored nine points off the bench going 4-for-6 from the field. Alexa Kolnitys contributed seven points, four assists, and two rebounds.
Davenport finished 48.9 percent from the field as a team to set a new season high for field goal percentage. They were 7-for-17 from behind the arc and were 10-for-14 from the free throw line. Becca Fugate led the Warriors with 22 points and connected on 5-for-9 from the arc. The Warriors shot 50.7 percent for the game and also made seven triples, but needed 24 attempts. The game saw two ties and two lead changes and the big stat lines were points off turnovers (31-9) and points in the paint (48-28) which favored Wayne State.
