GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The No. 7 Davenport women's basketball team fought to the end but fell to No. 1 Saint Francis (Ill.) 68-56 at home on Friday in the second game of the DU Holiday Classic. The highly-anticipated matchup saw the Fighting Saints jump out to a 19-9 lead in the first quarter and not let Davenport come back to take the lead at any point of the game. USF shot the ball well early and then used a 10-1 run over the last 4:14 of the first to build a double-digit lead.

Davenport could not convert on the offensive end shooting 23.5 percent in the quarter including 0-for-7 behind the arc. The Fighting Saints kept playing well into the second quarter and held a double-digit lead throughout while also increasing the lead to 42-26 at halftime. USF scored the final five points of the quarter including a pull-up three by Charnelle Reed as time expired.

The Panthers flipped the switch in the third quarter and put a ton of full-court pressure on the Fighting Saints. DU scored the first 11 points of the quarter to cut the lead down to 42-37 before USF scored for the first time in the quarter at the 4:43 mark. Hannah Wilkerson in particular wreaked havoc in the backcourt and her layup made it an eight-point game at 42-34 and then Emily Severn nailed a triple to make it 42-37.

St. Francis weathered the storm after the early barrage and Jordan Giddings hit a three at the 2:27 mark to make it 47-37 and re-establish a double-digit lead for the visitors. Davenport kept fighting and got the deficit down to 47-44 on a layup by Wilkerson with 54 seconds left in the third. USF led by six going into the fourth quarter and traded baskets with Davenport early in the quarter. St. Francis got a 57-47 lead at the 7:05 mark and then built it to 66-52 with 3:42 left. That final run made it tough to make any further comeback for Davenport who had their 11-game win streak snapped (14-2 overall).

DU did not have anyone score in double figures but were led by nine points from Chri Carter and Courtney Murphy. The duo had a tough night shooting the ball as Davenport as a team were just 4-for-27 (14.8 percent) behind the arc. USF shot 7-for-19 behind the arc on the flip side as Reed led the Fighting Saints with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kaitlin Aylward had a big game off the bench with 17 points (8-for-13 FG's) and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes. Mallory Sewell led DU with 10 rebounds and scored six points. Carter also finished with six rebounds and five assists to go with her nine points.