SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Davenport women's rugby team was back on the pitch for the first time in two weeks as they made a trip to American International on Saturday night. The game was a rematch of the NIRA Division II championship and the Yellow Jackets got the 28-21 win over the Panthers. DU was handed their first loss of the fall and are now 4-1 overall. AIC improved to 3-1 overall with the victory.

The Yellow Jackets raced out to a 14-0 lead in the opening minutes. Jendell Moe and Kiyanah Edwards each had a try and Camryn Henderson added two conversions. Davenport got on the board at 22:42 as Leilani Lepe got the try and also added the conversion. DU trailed 14-7 at halftime.

American International continued their push in the second half as Naomi Dodd and Venise Sanft had a try and Henderson kicked the conversions for a 28-7 lead. The Panthers did not quit and got right back into the game. Lepe's second try of the night came at 18:06 and then Rachel Wilkie got within one score at 11:25. The Yellow Jackets kept their defensive line strong down the stretch and DU could not get an equalizing score.

Davenport has another long road trip next Saturday as they travel to West Point, New York to take on Army at 7 PM.