Story by Nikki Sherrill, NAIA Media Coordinator

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – (Box Score) The first-ever meeting between Jamestown (N.D.) and Davenport (Mich.) proved to be one to remember as the two met-up in the first second-round contest of the 2017 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship. The gritty, back-and-forth battle ended with No. 3 Jamestown (N.D.) eliminating the first No. 2 seed from play after earning a 80-67 victory.

Jamestown, the North Star Athletic Association tournament champion, advances to the quarterfinals and will pair up with the winner of the No. 1 Concordia (Neb.) (32-2) and No. 5 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) (25-6) contest which will tip shortly after. That quarterfinal match is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday. With the loss, Davenport, who qualified as the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference regular-season champion, ends their season at 31-4.

The contest was a highlight reel for Jamestown’s Taylor Hammer who netted a game-high 36 points with 29 in the second-half when her Jimmies needed her most. Hammer earned a double-double when she added 11 rebounds to her stat line. McKayla Orr (16) and Bryn Woodside (10) were the other Jimmies to hit the double-digit mark in the contest.

Collectively, Davenport went 25-of-64 from the field – good for 39.1 percent. From beyond the arc, the Panthers connected on 33 percent with four 3-pointers. Led by Chri Carter, who scored a team-high 17 points with six rebounds, Davenport battled in each quarter to try and swing the energy to them. However, Jamestown showed its strength as they out-rebounded the Panthers 45-39 and hit seven 3-pointers to the Davenport four.

This is the second-straight loss in the second-round for the Panthers. In their 13^th appearance at the national championship, Davenport now owns a 19-13 all-time record while competing at this event.

Jamestown, in their ninth appearance at the championship, improves to 8-9.