Davenport is heading to the DII national championship, having won the fall title after two exhilarating games last weekend. A ferocious second half was needed against Bloomsburg in the semifinals, but the 41-26 victory pit the Panthers against perennial fall finalist Winona. The Black Katts had defeated Vassar 45-26 the day prior, but didn’t have the gas to pull pass Davenport in Sunday’s 27-22 decision.

During Saturday’s semifinals, it looked as if an upset was well underway. Bloomsburg took a 26-5 halftime lead, and center Nikki Snyder continued her role as the most effective striker with three tries.

“We just had an off first half,” Davenport captain Julia Mayer said. “We came back with 100 times more intensity and showed them.”

And then some. Outside center Danielle Ordway, having scored Davenport’s lone try in the first half, rallied with four more tries in the second half, and also saw No. 8 Hunter Moreland and prop Caren Brown dot down. Inside center Hannah Tennant added three conversions for the 46-26 win.

We needed to adjust to the rucks,” Davenport coach Greg Teliczan said after the Bloomsburg match. “We were coming in way too high, and we definitely clean it up [in the second half].

“We stuck to our pattern, developed our attack and started breaking the line,” Teliczan added. “We were more patient, too.”

It was an incredible second-half output by Davenport, but the team couldn’t afford to let Winona build such a big lead in the final. The Minnesota had defeated Vassar 45-26 and demonstrated its pull-away power in the second half as well.

It took 25 minutes before the fall final recorded its first score, and it came from Winona. Wing Rachel Hannigan dotted down for the 5-0 lead, but three minutes later Moreland evened up with her second try of the weekend. Tennant’s conversion gave Davenport a lead that it would, at its closest, only share with Winona.

A try from Davenport wing Melissa Francis pushed the Panthers’ lead to 12-5 into the break, but Winona answered right back when the teams retook the pitch. Center Lachen Esters pierced the Davenport defense for a score, and flyhalf Katie Dries’ conversion tied it all up 12.

“Every time they scored on us, all of our heads, we kept them up,” Mayer said. “We kept our cool and said, ‘Let’s get them now, guys,’ and we did.”

The captain embodied those motivating words, and two minutes after Dries returned to midfield for the restart, Mayer scored Davenport’s third try of the game.

"Scoring the try was great, but it was the team that got me there," Mayer said.

Davenport wasn’t without its struggles, however, and lineouts proved an area of weakness. It gave the powerful Winona forwards more ball than the Panthers would have liked. 

“They were just a little rough,” Mayer said. “We made some bad calls, some bad throws.”

Winona made good use of its possession, and once again, evened up the scoreline (17-all) when scrumhalf Kalene Hill dotted down.

But like Davenport is wont to do, the Panthers saw Ordway help put the Iowa team back out in front. With the final 10 minutes approaching, the Junior All American score her sixth try of the weekend, and Tennant’s conversion gave the Panthers the winning margin, 24-17.

Winona, which won the fall championship in 2013 and then bowed to eventual national championship Notre Dame College in 2014, knows all about high-stakes games. The Black Katts answered quickly, sending Esters across for her second try, but Dries’ conversion fell short, 24-22.

With still eight minutes to play, Tennant kicked a penalty in minute 78 to necessitate a converted try for the win, 27-22 to Davenport.

Davenport is now the DII fall champion and will advance to the national championship in May.