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March 12, 2008
Sioux City, Iowa - In their fourth straight appearance at the NAIA Division II National Tournament, the Panthers finally got the monkey off their back as they used a huge first half to move on to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. Davenport defeated Southwestern College (KS) 76-66 in the opening game of the 2007-2008 National Tournament for their first ever win in the National Tournament. The Panthers will now play on Friday, March 14 at 9:30 AM EST. Jeanette Woodberry opened the game with a three-pointer which was a sign of things to come from the first team All-American as Davenport would eventually score the first four points of the game and would not look back from there. Southwestern, out of the KCAC, got on the board at the 18:44 mark before Davenport would push the lead to 7-4 just 3:00 into the game. What happened next was exactly what Davenport needed to give them confidence as they went on a 14-0 run in four minutes of game action to take a commanding 21-4 lead and the run was highlighted by five different Panthers putting up points on the board. After leading by 17 at that point, the Lady Builders scored a basket to break the run, but the Panthers came back with another 5-0 run and would eventually push the lead to 20 before Southwestern closed the half with a late free-throw to bring the halftime score to 49-30. Leading by 19 at halftime, it is tough to come out with much intensity in the early going of the second half but the Panthers defense took over as they allowed only one point in the first 5:40 of the second half and pushed the lead to 26 which would turn out to be the largest of the game. Southwestern fought to the end though and would use a few small runs to get within 10, but Davenport kept its composure to seal the 76-66 victory. It marks the first ever victory in the National Tournament for Davenport University. After posting 17 points in the first half, Jeanette Woodberry finished the game as the leading scorer with 25 points. Freshman Kristi Boehm, Brittany Lyman and Kallie Benike also posted 13, 11 and 11 points respectively as Davenport shot a sizzling 48% from the field. The Panthers also out-rebounded the Lady Builders 46-38. Davenport will now face off against Concordia (NE) who defeated Union College (KY), in the round of 16 on Friday at 8:30 AM CST. That game will be broadcast live on internet radio and can be followed live on DakStats webcast through the NAIA. |
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