Lake Superior State 60, Davenport 58 (Jan. 9)
The Davenport women’s basketball team were without the services of their top two scorers (Ellie Toney and Jaci Walker) who have combined for 22.9 points per game this season on Thursday night in a 60-58 loss at Lake Superior State. The rest of the Panthers battled to the very end but dropped their third straight game and slipped to 3-10 overall and 1-4 in the GLIAC.
The first half was all it could have been for the Panthers as they built a 31-23 lead. Lake Superior State shot just 30.8 percent from the floor and Davenport countered by shooting 46.2 percent, connecting on 12-of-26 from the floor. Lillee Gustafson was able to score eight points on 4-of-7 shooting in the opening half to lead the Panthers.
The second half was not as perfect as the Lakers would outscore the Panthers 37-27 winning the third and fourth quarter by five points apiece. Davenport would build a 37-25 lead with 7:52 left in the third quarter after an Isabel Lindo basket. LSSU used a 10-2 run over the final 2:43 of the third quarter to trail 46-43 heading into the final stanza.
The Lakers shot 45 percent in the third quarter compared to 40 percent for the Panthers and Breah Golden came to life for LSSU with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the third quarter. Lake Superior State led for just 9:33 of game time, but took the lead for the first time since it was 23-22 with 4:36 left in the second quarter, with a basket by CeCe Hacker to make it 52-50 with 6:03 left in the game.
The Lakers would not give up the lead for the rest of the contest, but Davenport did make things interesting down the stretch. Gustafson split at the free throw line to make it 60-58 with 33 seconds to play. LSSU then committed a turnover with three seconds left to give DU one final chance. Nevaeh Williams had a last-second attempt from three-point land, but it did not fall.
Deyonce Thompson led the Panthers with 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 30-plus minutes. Gustafson recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. It was the second double-double of the season and 23rd of her career. Hannah Schroeder led the team with four assists and had no turnovers. She also scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds.
Ferris State 89, Davenport 58 (Jan. 11)
The Davenport women’s basketball team shuffled the starting lineup on Saturday as Kayla Covington, Laynie Meredith, and Jada McCree got their first starts at Davenport on the road in an 89-58 defeat at Ferris State. The Panthers were still without the services of leading scorer Ellie Toney, but did get second-leading scorer Jaci Walker back after missing the last five games. Walker came off the bench and played 19 minutes, while finishing with four points.
Covington tied for the team lead with 13 points, marking the first time she has done that this season. She went 4-for-8 from the floor and 5-for-5 at the free throw line. Covington also led the team with a season-high seven rebounds and a season-high three blocked shots. Deyonce Thompson also had 13 points in 22 minutes off the bench, but was limited by four fouls. Isabel Lindo added 11 points going 5-for-7 from the field and made her only three-point attempt which was the first basket of the game.
Davenport was hurt by a season-high 30 turnovers eclipsing the previous 23 in a game against Ashland back on Nov. 15. Ferris State would score 33 points off those turnovers and also turned those miscues into 26 fast-break points. The Bulldogs finished going 19-for-20 at the free throw line and made their first 17 attempts at the charity stripe.
