Malori Dixon led the Cavs with 17 points and added three assists and three rebounds against Davenport on Sunday.
No. 4 Davenport Sinks Cavs in Second Half
STATS - Concordia vs. Davenport
PORTLAND, Ore.—The Concordia women’s basketball hung with No. 4 Davenport through the first half Sunday, before eventually losing the game 72-55.
Concordia (4-8) had to crawl back from an early deficit in the first half though, as Davenport (10-2) held a 29-17 lead with 7:54 remaining in the first half.
However, five straight points from CU’s Malori Dixon followed, then, after Davenport scored again, the Cavs reeled off 12 straight to vault them into the lead at 34-31 with 2:51 left in the first.
Senior Rachel Scarpelli capped the run with a three-pointer, the team’s fifth in the period.
Unfortunately for the Cavs, Davenport finished the half on a 9-2 run, but Concordia still sat within four, 40-36, at halftime against last year’s national tournament runner-up.
The Cavs’ three-point shooting proved vital in the first half as the team shot 5-of-10 from beyond the arc compared to just 2-of-14 for Davenport. In addition, both teams shot essentially even through the first half with Davenport taking home a slight 44.7-to-43.3 advantage.
The shooting didn’t last into the second half for the Cavs though, as Davenport went on a 10-1 run from the start of second that put them back up by double digits.
The Cavs didn’t get their first field goal in the second half until Scarpelli got a lay-up to go with 14:51 remaining. Scarpelli would add a jumper soon after, but then came another Davenport run, this time 13-4, which left the score 65-45 with 6:47 left.
After that, Davenport remained in full control of the game and sealed the victory.
Overall, the numbers reflect the second-half separation with Davenport outshooting Concordia 40-to-19.2 from the floor in the second period. Davenport also got lots of easy buckets as the team outscored Concordia 48-12 in the paint in the game.
Individually, Dixon led the way for Concordia with 17, while Scarpelli added 14 and fellow senior Courtney May put in 11. In addition, May led the team with six assists, Scarpelli totaled a game-high three steals and Lexi Amundsen grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for Concordia.
On the flip side, Davenport’s Karlee Despres posted game-highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds, while teammate Abbey Hengesbach added 16 points and Carrie Grubius and Abby Neff each scored 12 points.
Even in defeat, Concordia can take away a small victory that they held Davenport to well below their scoring average of 87.5 points a game, which leads NAIA Division II.
Regardless, the Cavs will now turn their attention to Warner Pacific who they meet in their first CCC road game this season on Monday, Dec. 19 at 5:30 p.m.