Ferris State 87, Davenport 50 (Feb. 6)
Visiting Ferris State made 10 or more three-pointers for the ninth time this season and finished 15-of-28 from the arc in a 87-50 win over Davenport on Thursday night. The Bulldogs only dressed eight players but those eight filled the stat sheet in the 16th win of the season for the Bulldogs. Mia Riley in particular had an outstanding night with a triple-double finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Her final assist of the night came with 50 seconds left on a three-pointer by Emma Schierbeek, who finished with a game-high 24 points off the bench and made 7-of-11 from deep.
The Bulldogs came out in a zone defense and used that primarily all game to limit the Panthers to 34.5 percent shooting overall including 4-of-19 from the arc. Ferris State never trailed in the contest after scoring the game’s first five points. FSU led 25-10 at the end of the first quarter and 43-19 at halftime. Davenport shot under 30 percent in each of the first three quarters, but turned it around in the fourth quarter going 8-of-14 from the floor. The Panthers were led in scoring by Lillee Gustafson with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. She also grabbed five rebounds and added three assists in just 17-plus minutes of action. Ellie Toney added 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Jaci Walker came off the bench to score nine points in 14-plus minutes. Jada McCree also scored nine points and went 3-of-7 from behind the long line.
Davenport 64, Lake Superior State 44 (Feb. 8)
It was a complete effort on both ends of the floor on Saturday afternoon as the women’s basketball team defeated Lake Superior State 64-44 in GLIAC action. The 20-point cushion is the largest margin of victory over a NCAA Division II opponent this season and gives Davenport five overall wins and three conference wins in 2024-25. The win evened the season series after the Lakers won 60-58 in the first meeting back on Jan. 9 in Sault Ste. Marie.
The big story was a dominant second quarter for Davenport. After leading 16-11 after the first quarter, they outscored the Lakers 25-6 in the quarter to lead 41-17 at halftime. Lake Superior State shot 2-of-11 in the second quarter including 0-of-6 from the arc. The Panthers would shoot 50 percent (8-of-16) in the quarter and also went 8-of-11 at the free throw line.
The Panthers took their largest lead of 27 points with 1:37 left in the third quarter. LSSU could not get closer than 19 points in the quarter before Davenport increased their lead further. The final margin proved to be 20 points as Taylor Stacy made back-to-back three’s in the final 40 seconds. Davenport finished the game shooting 42.6 percent. Lake Superior State shot 31.5 percent and committed 23 turnovers.
Ellie Toney recorded her third double-double of the season and fifth of her career with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Toney shot 7-of-10 from the floor and also had three assists and two steals with zero turnovers. Lillee Gustafson tied Toney with 10 rebounds, which gives her 40 games in her career with double-digit rebounds. Hannah Schroeder and Nevaeh Williams each led the team with four steals. Schroeder also contributed 10 points for her second double-digit scoring effort of the season. Isabel Lindo added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting for her team-leading 11th double-digit scoring game of the season.
