GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The women's basketball team stormed out of the gate in the first quarter with a 28-6 lead over visiting Olivet College on Tuesday night. The Comets would outscore the Panthers over the second and third quarter, but Davenport put the game away in the fourth quarter for a 74-56 final over the NCAA Division III Comets (2-1).
Davenport improved to 2-2 overall and won for the second time at home this season. The Panthers also defeated Olivet for the third time in four tries all-time. The last time these teams hit the hardwood was 10 years ago.
Jenna Falkenberg had a monster first quarter with 10 points and eight rebounds to pace the Panthers to a 28-6 lead after 10 minutes. DU shot 9-of-16 from the floor including 3-of-4 behind the arc. Olivet could not find their shooting touch going 2-of-14 from the floor with six turnovers. Davenport scored the first nine points prompting a timeout by Olivet. DU then increased their lead to 16-2 at the 4:31 mark after a Haley Gibbons layup. Martyna Pioro nailed a triple at the horn to end the first quarter with a 22-point advantage.
Olivet shot the ball better in the second quarter (42.9 percent) and outscored the Panthers 16-11. Davenport shot just 26.7 percent (4-of-15) in the quarter and committed eight turnovers. The 17-point lead at the break and trimmed down to 55-43 after three quarters. Breauna Rivoli-Johnson scored nine points in the quarter for Olivet and Shae Daniels also had nine points. DU continued to struggle keeping the ball with nine turnovers in the quarter.
Davenport saw their lead cut to 63-54 with 5:12 left in the game on a layup by Rivoli-Johnson on the fast break. The Panthers would score the next seven points and not allow a point for over four minutes to gain control at 70-54 with 1:41 left to play.
Rivoli-Johnson led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-14 from the floor. Falkenberg would finish with 20 points and 15 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. She went 8-of-13 from the floor and blocked two shots before fouling out in 26 minutes of action. Toni Gracescored a season-high 13 points to go with three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Kenzie Wilkinson scored a season-high 10 points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench.