GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Davenport women's basketball team defeated Indiana Tech for the third time this season and in the process advanced to the WHAC Tournament Final to be held on Tuesday, Mar. 1 against Lawrence Tech at 7 p.m.

All three games against the Warriors were battles and in the end the Panthers claimed another tough win at the DU Student Center in the semifinals by the final score of 82-76. The Warriors came out and led 24-16 after one quarter. The Panthers never led in the first 10 minutes as Indiana Tech built an 18-10 lead with 3:15 left in the quarter after a pair of free throws by Kendall Knapke.

Davenport managed to take their first lead of the game with 1:31 left until halftime on a layup by Amanda Merz. DU led 40-39 going into the break as Haley Cook made a jumper with five seconds left before the half. Indiana Tech shot 43.3 percent in the first half (13-of-30) and were 2-of-9 behind the arc. Davenport shot 45.2 percent (14-of-31) and were 10-of-11 at the foul line.
DU built a 48-43 lead at the 5:34 mark of the third quarter after a basket by Emily Severn. They kept a lead until 54 seconds left in the third when ITU regained the lead at 59-58 after a triple by Cook. Lauren Brower made a pair of freebies before the conclusion of the quarter as Davenport led 60-59 with 10 minutes to play.

The game went back-and-forth in the fourth before the Warriors scored six straight points to take a 69-64 lead forcing a DU timeout with 6:42 left to go. Mallory Sewell converted a layup and Severn tripled on the wing to tie the game at 71-71 with 5:15 to play. Severn came up big again with 1:18 left as her bucket made it 77-73. Cook split at the line for Indiana Tech and as the shot clock was running down, Sewell made a layup for a five-point lead with 41 seconds to go. ITU came up empty on their next possession and Alex Law sealed it with two free throws with 19 seconds left.

Law led all scorers with 20 points going 5-of-11 from the floor and 9-of-10 at the charity stripe. Merz had a stellar game with 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in 38 minutes. Brower added 10 points including a pair of triples. Severn had 11 points off the bench and grabbed six rebounds. Davenport shot 46.8 percent for the game and were 20-of-24 (.833) at the foul line. The game featured nine ties and 11 lead changes.