ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Panthers opened their 2019-20 season on the road and against the Saints of Maryville University. Davenport has an extremely young team, starting two freshmen and playing only one upperclassman in Courtney McInerney. The game was in hand for Davenport, leading by a score of 47-45 heading into the final quarter of play. However, the Panthers were outscored 28-9 in the final quarter of play and fell by 17 points.
 
THE BASICS
Final Score: Davenport-56 | Maryville-73
Location: St. Louis, Mo.
 
POINTS PER HALF
First Half: DU-28 | MU-27
Second Half: DU-28 | MU-46
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening points of the game belonged to freshman Scout Nelson, who scored two points on a layup, assisted by Toni Grace. Nelson followed up with a free throw to complete the three-point play. The Saints warmed up quickly offensively, scoring 10 unanswered points and Davenport trailed 10-3. Davenport scored the final five points of the quarter, with a three from Madison Jones and a jumper by Taylor Oplaka, to cut the deficit to four points heading into the second.
 
The Saints opened the second with four consecutive points, pulling away with an 18-10 lead. Davenport battled back quickly and scored six straight to come within two of Maryville. Jones went on a tear in the later part of the quarter, scoring seven unanswered points. She hit a jumper in the paint, nailed a three, then hit another jumper to give Davenport a 23-20 advantage with 3:09 remaining in the half. The Panthers led 28-27 at halftime.
 
The Panthers came out in the second half on fire, hitting three straight jump shots to take a 34-27 lead. Maryville fought back and took the lead back with 4:24 left in the third quarter. The lead bounced back and forth, with 46 seconds left in the quarter Nelson drained a three to give Davenport a 47-45 lead heading into the final quarter.
 
Maryville took control in the fourth quarter, outscoring Davenport 28-9 in the final 10 minutes of play. The Saints scored the opening 10 minutes of the quarter and the Panthers never fully recovered. Davenport cut the lead down to five, following a three by Jones, but the lead quickly grew back to double digits for the Saints. Maryville finished the final five minutes of play on a 16-4 run.

STAT LEADERS
Points: Jones (21)
Rebounds: Elise Scaggs/McInerney (7)
Assists: Scaggs/Nelson/Jones/Kenzie Wilkinson/Grace (2)
Steals: Scaggs/Grace (2)
Blocks: Jones (2)

PLAYER OF THE GAME

 
UP NEXT
Davenport has a quick turnaround as they take on Missouri-St. Louis tomorrow at 12 pm ET (11 am CT).
 
Story by: Devin Steiner
 
Picture credit: Andy Visockis