Davidson 61, Winthrop 40
ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Senior forward Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore, Md.) picked up where she left off a year ago with yet another double-double, dropping in game highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds, and the Davidson women's basketball team officially opened up its 2008-09 season with an impressive 61-40 road win at the Winthrop Hilton Garden Inn Classic on Saturday afternoon.
Robinson, the preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year, finished 5-of-11 from the field, hitting two three-pointers, while adding four steals and a block in the winning effort. The senior post player had a conference-best 14 double doubles last year, closing the season with five in her last seven games. For her career, Robinson has tallied 18 double doubles.
Matching Robinson in double figures was sophomore Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.) with 11 points to go along with six boards, three assists and two steals. Also filling up the stat sheet was junior Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) with seven points, seven rebounds and four assists.
In all, nine Wildcats (1-0) etched their names in the scorer's book, including three of the four freshman scoring their first collegiate points.
The Wildcats' defense was on full display, holding the Eagles to just 14 field goals and 22 percent shooting for the contest, while forcing 15 turnovers. They held the Eagles eight points through the first eight minutes of the second period when they started to run away with the game.
Leading 22-19 coming out of the break, Davidson came out strong offensively in the new half by opening up an 11-point advantage when the Wildcats scored the first eight points of the half.
Then after seeing the Eagles cut the deficit down to seven, 30-23, the 'Cats put the game out of reach by going on a 25-7 run to grab a comfortable 55-30 lead with 5:55 remaining. Highlighting the run was junior Monica Laune (Ashland, Neb.), who dropped in seven of her eight points during the outburst. Laune also matched her point total with eight rebounds.
Offensively, Davidson shot over 50 percent in the second half to blow open the game after it connected on just 23.3 percent of its shots in the first half.
Lax led the Wildcats out of the gate as she dropped in five quick points, including a three-ball, to give the 'Cats an early 9-0 lead 3:30 into the first half. Davidson hit four of its first seven shots and maintained the lead the entire half.
Winthrop hung around though, twice cutting the Davidson lead down to three points during the opening half. Trailing 15-5, the Eagles used a 8-0 run behind two three-pointers and a jumper to bring them within three at 15-13 at the 7:54 mark.
Then right before intermission, back-to-back layups by Yvonne van Daalen and Ashley Haugtvedt cut the Wildcat lead to 22-19 as the first stanza ended.
Winthrop was led by Haugtvedt's eight points, and she also added four boards and a block.
Davidson will now play Mississippi, which won the first game of the classic over North Carolina A&T, tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the championship game. The Wildcats, 14-12 at in-season tournaments since 2001-02, seeks its fourth title under head coach Annette Watts on Sunday.
Game Notes: Davidson improved to 4-4 under Watts in season openers ... The Wildcats are now 9-2 all-time against Winthrop ... The Winthrop Hilton Garden Inn Classic is the first of two in-season tournaments the Wildcats will participate in this year ... 21 of the Wildcats' 57 total rebounds came on the offensive end ... Freshman Kristen Johnsen earned her first collegiate start in the win as she closed with two points and five rebounds to go along with a block ... The Wildcats got 21 points from their bench, led by Laune's eight points.
Georgia Southern 93, Brewton-Parker 44
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern outscored Brewton-Parker 55 to nine in the second half en route to a 93-44 win Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Lady Eagles opened the second half with a 22-0 run. Ashley Rivens (Charlotte, N.C.) nailed a three-pointer with 15:42 to go in the game to make the score 51-35 and forced a Brewton-Parker timeout. Georgia Southern continued to hold the Barons scoreless in the second half until Zaneta Howard nailed a long jumper from just inside the three-point line with 11:34 to go in the second half to make the score 60-37.
“We stepped upped and played well in the second half,” said head coach Rusty Cram. “We wore them down with our depth.”
The Lady Eagles shot 55% from behind the three-point line and went 13 of 16 from the charity stripe in the game. Georgia Southern also dominated the boards pulling down 60 rebounds to Brewton-Parker’s 35. Krista Tate (Atlanta, Ga.) led both teams with 10 rebounds.
“Krista Tate did an absolutely marvelous job defensively in the post game,” said coach Cram.
The Lady Eagles jumped out to an early 9-1 lead to start the game, but the Barons had a late first half surge to tie the game with only 35 seconds left in the half.
Sophomore Jamie Navarro (Naples, Fla.) led the way in the early going with four points in four minutes. Navarro made just her second start of her career and both of her starts have come in season openers. She finished up the game with ten points, six rebounds and three assists.
Brewton-Parker cut the lead down to five with the score 15-10 at the 13:04 minute mark. Georgia Southern responded with big plays from some of its freshman. Tate nailed a three-pointer with 12:52 to go in the first half. That was followed up by a Samantha Williams (Kingsport, Tenn.) steal that led to a Carolyn Whitney (Duluth, Ga.) three-pointer which gave the Lady Eagles a 21-10 lead with 11:57 to go. Whitney scored 15 points and dished out six assists off the bench.
The Barons would not go away and made a late first half run. Shelby Pauling stole the ball and scored on a fast break layup to tie the game at 35 all. Pauling finished the half with eleven points, which led all scorers at half.
Senior Ashley Melson (Newnan, Ga.) drained a three-pointer with 15 seconds to go before half to give the Lady Eagles a 38-35 halftime lead. Melson led Georgia Southern with eight points in the first half.
Georgia Southern only made 35% of its field goals in the first half, but shot 50% from behind the arc. Brewton-Parker had a 46% field goal percentage in the first half but was only two of six from deep.
The Lady Eagles outrebounded the Barons 27-14 in the first half, and scored seven second chance points off of 14 offensive rebounds.
“I was disappointed that the upperclassmen didn’t have the long minutes together in the first half and that we had to go to many freshmen too early. That is what caused the inconsistency in the first half,” said coach Cram.
Freshman Brittney Nelson (Rochester, Mich.) made a three-pointer from the right wing with 7:57 remaining to give the Lady Eagles a 30 point advantage. Nelson finished the game with 11 points and was two for three from behind the arc.
“The freshmen did a great job in the second half and gave us some big points,” said coach Cram.
Georgia Southern opened up a 40 point lead with 4:13 remaining in the second half. Williams made two free-throws to give the Lady Eagles an 82-42 lead over Brewton-Parker. She had 12 points and seven rebounds.
“Samantha is all over the floor. She is going to run around you, through you, over you or whatever she has to do. She is a competitor and I love that she is on our basketball team,” said coach Cram.
Georgia Southern shot better than 55% from the field in the second half and went a perfect six for six from the free throw line. They also continued to make threes and went seven for 12 from deep in the second half.
“We got the team refocused for the second half and were able to keep our experienced players on the court. They got control of the game again like they did to start the game,” said coach Cram.
The Lady Eagles return to action Monday against Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, Fla. at 7 p.m. The Owls lost their season opener at Baylor 90-45.
Longwood 58, Elon 54 (OT)
ELON, N.C. ? Tiffany Davis scored 12 points with Sharwill Bell adding 10 in an overtime thriller as the Phoenix dropped a 54-58 decision to Longwood in the final game of the ISES Cancer Awareness Tip-off. Elon and Longwood both even out its records to 1-1 on the season.
Longwood won the points in the paint battle in the first half, outscoring the Phoenix 18-8, and giving it a 25-20 halftime lead. The Lancers jumped out to a 6-0 lead at the start of the game, but a jump shot and a free throw by Davis allowed Elon to tie the score at six.
Longwood’s Amber Sims sank two shots that allowed Longwood to extend its lead to six at 12-6. Tiara Gause and Julie Taylor combined for five points that narrowed the score to 17-22 with less than four minutes to play in the half.
Amber Wall made a layup with 1:57 on the clock and made it a three-point play after Longwood’s Emma Zieverink fouled her. Her free throw shot made it a one-possession game, but Longwood made the final bucket of the half to extend the lead to 25-20 entering the half.
After the break, Longwood scored the first bucket of the half. Elon answered with a layup by Bell. Davis drained a three-point shot that was followed by a jumper from Gause that brought the game within one at the 29-30 mark.
A pair of free throws by Longwood’s Fernandes sparked a run that extended the teams lead to nine at 38-29. Elon battled back following back-to-back baskets by Bell that made it a three-point game, at 35-38, with 9:30 left in regulation.
A Gause jumper tied the game for the first time since the 16:31 mark of the first half at 41. The Lancers hit timely shots that gave them a seven-point advantage with less that four minutes on the clock.
Longwood saw its lead dwindle following six straight Elon buckets, including four free throws by Urysla Cotton. Trailing 49-51 with less than a minute remaining, the Phoenix put the ball in the hands of Aiesha Harper who sank a jumper with 21 seconds on the clock to tie the game at 51 and send it into overtime.
Harper came through for the Phoenix in the opening minutes of overtime by sinking a shot from behind the arc that gave Elon its first lead of the game at 54-51 with 4:06 remaining. Longwood retook the lead at the 54-57 mark when Fernandes drained a three. Gause looked to tie the game at 57 when Gause attempted a three, but Longwood’s Cierra Baker blocked the shot. Cotton fouled Anna Steg with three seconds on the clock that sent her to the charity stripe. Steg went one-for-one at the line, but Longwood came away with the 58-54 win.
Elon returns to the hardwood Tuesday evening when it makes the short trip to Raleigh, N.C. to take on the NC State Wolfpack. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.