Rhonehouse, Michalski Fuel PNW Women’s 63-59 GLIAC Road Win over Davenport
Grand Rapids, Mich. – Sophomore Shae Rhonehouse (Fremont, Ind./Fremont) and senior Ellie Michalski (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) both had big games as the Purdue Northwest women’s basketball team opened up the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) portion of its schedule with a 63-59 road win over Davenport University (Mich.) at the DU Student Center in Grand Rapids, Mich. Rhonehouse led all scorers with 21 points and also tallied eight rebounds, while Michalski posted a double-double effort of 18 points and team-leading 11 rebounds.
Defense was key as 12 steals for the Pride helped lead to 23 total turnovers by the Panthers. The tough defense by Purdue Northwest also limited DU to just 30 percent (22-for-73) shooting from the field. The Black & Gold were solid from beyond the arc Thursday hitting eight of its 25 attempts for a 32-percent clip.
PNW got off to a great start with back-to-back three pointers by senior Jessica Kiser (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and Rhonehouse to take an early 12-4 lead with six minutes left to play in the opening quarter. However, the Pride offense went cold over the remaining six minutes of the period and the Panthers took advantage using a 14-3 run to take a 18-15 lead into the second quarter.
A pair of lay-ups by Michalski and a three-pointer by sophomore Baylee Goodman (Fowler, Ind./Benton Central) allowed Purdue Northwest to take back the lead, 22-18, with the first seven points of the second quarter. Davenport kept it close the rest of the half and held a narrow 27-26 lead at the break. The game stayed tight throughout the third quarter with neither team able to build more than a four-point advantage. Heading into the final frame, Davenport led by just a pair, 46-44, but a lay-up by Michalski early in the fourth quarter tied the game again.
A three-pointer by junior Michaela Kikendall (Morristown, Ind./Morristown) at the 6:32 mark of the quarter put PNW ahead by four, 56-52. Rhonehouse scored the next four points for the Pride to help give them a 60-59 edge with 1:32 to play in regulation. Another trey by Kikendall with 29 seconds remaining sealed the big conference road win for PNW.
Purdue Northwest (1-4 overall/1-0 GLIAC) hosts its first GLIAC game on Saturday, December 2, with Wayne State University (Mich.) coming to Hammond, Ind. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT start at the Fitness & Recreation Center. PNW Athletics will also host Kid’s Day and Alumni Day in conjunction with the game with all kids 17 and under as well as all Pride alumni receiving free admission.