Davenport defeats Siena Heights 75-47, Will Play Concordia in WHAC Championship
Box Score |
Photo Gallery |
Neff Audio Interview |
Williams Audio Interview
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport used strong defensive play to play to pull away from Siena Heights in the Semifinals of the WHAC Tournament. Leading by nine at the half, Davenport held the Saints scoreless until the 12:22 mark in the second half to help build a 23 point lead. The Panthers will take on Concordia in the WHAC Championship on Tuesday night.
Both teams struggled out of the gate but back-to-back three's by
Leah Sevcik and
Carrie Grubius in the middle of a 12-0 run helped the Panthers to an early 14-6 lead. Another three by Grubius a few minutes later gave Davenport a 17-10 lead halfway through the opening half.
Despite scoring just four points of the last 5:38 of the first half, Davenport was able to maintain a nine point lead by holding Siena Heights to just six points and forcing six turnovers during that span.
The Davenport defense dominated the opening minutes of the second half holding Siena Heights scoreless for the first 7:38 of the half. During that span the Saints offense went 0-9 from the field and 0-4 from the free throw line.
Abby Neff (3) and
Kia Frazier (2) combined for five steals during this span.
On the other end of the court,
Karlee Despres scored all seven of her points in the first seven minutes of the second half making a three and going 4-4 from the free throw line to help Davenport extend their lead to 43-20 with 13:18 remaining in the game.
Emily Nielson (10 points),
Kayla Gross (6 points), and
Kia Frazier, who set a career high with 7 steals, had solid games off the bench to close out the 75-47 win for the Panthers.
Abbey Hengesbach led all scorers with 15 points and added six rebounds.
Abby Neff had 10 points, four steals, and a team high seven rebounds for the Panthers.
The Lady Panthers will be back in action on Tuesday night when they take on the two-seed Concordia in the WHAC Championship. The game is set for a 7:30 PM start in the DU Student Center.
Post-Game Quotes
Head Coach Mike Williams on defensive effort – “I thought we were in great position today. I thought we were up the line, we were towards the ball, we saw the ball, and we were very active. We were very active with our eyes and our hands, we anticipated and we gambled. And thirdly we didn't let them penetrate. That was a point of emphasis is don't let them penetrate to the basket either with the dribble or the pass and I thought we did good job in both those areas.”
Senior Abby Neff on making it back to WHAC Championship – “It definitely means a lot. For the first half of the season we just wanted to win the conference regular season outright, but now going back to the conference Championship game it definitely means a lot and now we just have to focus on this next game and get another win. Then hopefully we can take care of business at nationals.”
Post-Game Notes
Davenport is 15-2 all-time against Siena Heights…This is the fifth time this season that the Panthers have held their opponent under 50 points…Davenport outscored Siena Heights 38-20 in the paint…The Panthers held Siena Heights to 27.8% shooting from the floor, the lowest FG% the Panthers have allowed this season…Davenport shot a season high 84.6% from the free throw line (9-9 in the second half)
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