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Jan. 16, 2008
Caledonia, Mich. - Tonight's Davenport vs. Aquinas was the first Top 20 matchup of the year in the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference and the Panthers made sure everyone took notice as they defeated the Saints 81-64 on their home floor. The win lifts DU to 17-3 on the year and 4-0 in WHAC play. In a matchup of the #11 and #17 teams in NAIA Division II, the first 5:00 were played pretty evenly as both teams tried to see what the other had planned. Aquinas got on the board first after 1:28 of play but Davenport got hot and used a 9-2 run to take the early momentum. Aquinas showed why they are ranked so highly in the country and battled back to take a 13-12 lead at the 12:25 mark on a three-pointer by Claire Hogan. The Saints would push the lead to five (24-19) with many forced turnovers that led to some easy transition baskets. The Panthers would not keep fighting back and over the last 5:24 of the first half, went on a 17-6 run to lead by six at the break 38-32. Coming out of the break, Davenport knew they had Aquinas on their heels and quickly took charge of the game after five straight points from Junior Stephani Roles. Lynne Blomberg hit a free-throw at the 17:43 mark to push the lead to 10 and it seemed the Panthers were ready to roll. The Saints would not quit and behind the stellar play of Senior guard Whitney Marsh, used their own 8-0 to get within three at 45-42. Immediately following the Saints run, the Panthers came back with their own and over the next 8:31 went on a 21-10 run to give themselves a 16 points lead (68-52) with only 6:17 to play. Many of the highlights of the run were by Senior All-American Jeanette Woodberry who scored six of her own and dished out three more assists. Kristi Boehm was also a major factor during the run and she ultimatelty finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds and a game high 8 assists. The last 6:00 of the game saw Aquinas make numerous three and four point runs, but everytime it looked as if they were gaining momentum, Woodberry came back with a play of her own, whether it was scoring or dishing it off for an easy bucket. Woodberry ended the game with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists and was joined in double figured by Boehm (13), Kristin Bergsma (11) and Sara Haverdink (11). Davenport hit on 35% (11/31) from behind the arc and forced the Saints into a dismal 33% from the floor. Davenport will return to action this Saturday when they head to UM Dearborn for a 1:00 PM matchup with the Wolves. Their game will be followed by the men's game at 3:00 PM in Dearborn, MI. |
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