Davidson 90, Wingate 57
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Behind three players in double figures and led by 21 from senior Alex Thompson, the Davidson Wildcat women's basketball team opened its 2009-10 season with a 90-57 exhibition win over the Wingate Bulldogs Sunday afternoon at Belk Arena.
Thompson finished her day shooting 6-of-14, including 3-of-6 from behind the line and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. She added seven rebounds and a pair of steals and assists.
Making strong debuts for the Wildcats, freshmen Sarah Davis and Sophia Aleksandravicius joined Thompson in double figures, finishing with 14 and 16 points, respectively. Davis was 3-of-6 from the field and added eight points on 8-of-10 shooting from the line. Aleksandravicius hit 5-of-11, including 2-of-4 from behind the arc, to go along with a team-high eight rebounds and three blocks.
Kurie Washington scored 20 points to lead the Bulldogs, hitting 6-of-13. Britney Mitchell added eight points on 3-of-7 shooting, and Louticia Logan tallied a team-high five rebounds.
Davidson finished 30-of-69 (43.5 percent) from the field and hit 5-of-13 (38.5 percent) from deep. Wingate shot 15-of-51 (29.4 percent) and made just two of seven three-point attempts (28.6 percent).
As a team, the Wildcats led in all statistical categories, including out-rebounding the Bulldogs 44-39. Wingate committed 26 turnovers to 14 for Davidson, who made seven blocks to the Bulldogs' two.
Davidson took a slight 5-2 lead to open the game as senior Julia Paquette converted a layup and Thompson hit her first of three treys. A pair of free throws from freshman Barbara Sitton gave Davidson a 7-2 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the half, and the 'Cats turned the early lead into a 19-8 margin on Alexsandravicius' first bucket with nine minutes to play. Leading 33-18, Davidson scored the final 10 points of the half to open its largest lead, a 25-point margin.
Thompson scored 14 of her 21 points on 4-of-10 shooting in the first-half, as the 'Cats shot 14-of-33 (42.4 percent) from the field and 2-of-6 (33.3 percent) from behind the arc.
The Wildcats continued their strong play into the second half, opening a 29-point lead behind a 4-1 run to start the period. A layup by the Bulldogs' Britney Mitchell would cut Davidson's lead to 24 with 13 minutes to play, but Wingate would get no closer. Leading 58-34, Davidson would rattle off a 12-0 run to open up a 71-34 lead, for a 37-point margin, the largest of the game.
Davidson finished 16-of-36 (44.4 percent) in the second half, including 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) from behind the arc.
The Wildcats open regular-season play at Nebraska Friday, Nov. 13 at 8:05 p.m., the first of eight straight road games. In the second of the two-game Midwest swing, the 'Cats will face Creighton Sunday at 2:05 p.m.
Appalachian State 108, Lees-McRae 61
BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State University women's basketball jumped out to a 30-12 first half lead and never looked back as the Mountaineers posted an impressive outing in their final preseason tuneup, routing Lees-McRae 108-61 Sunday afternoon at the Holmes Center. Despite the exhibition game not counting as an official part of the 2009-10 season, it was the first time ASU scored 100 points since 1996, and the first time Appalachian posted as many as 108 points since downing Marshall 109-56 back on January 21, 1995.
Sophomore point guard Chakeitha Weldon helped the Black and Gold get out to the strong start as she scored three of the Mountaineers first seven points. Weldon was just one of six Apps to finish the game in double-figures as she tallied 12 points against the Lady Bobcats, to go along with two assists and two steals.
Appalachian increased its advantage to 16 points at the 27-11 mark as sophomore forward Catherine Williams anchored ASU's offense. Williams finished the first half with 12 points and went on to notch a double-double, scoring 22 points and hauling in a game-high 12 boards.
The Mountaineers led by as many as 20 points in first half action, and would not relinquish their comfy lead as layups by Sam Ramirez and Williams gave ASU a 56-33 advantage heading into the break.
Ramirez was impressive on the afternoon as well, ending the contest with a game-high 10 assists, along with two steals and just one turnover.
Lees-McRae was unable to get going anything offensively in second half action, scoring just two points in the first six minutes of play, thanks in part to a stout Appalachian defense, forcing six LMC turnovers.
ASU however continued its red-hot offensive play, with freshmen Anna Freeman and Kelsey Sharkey increasing ASU's lead to 41 points at the 89-48 mark with a little over seven minutes to play.
Sharkey and Courtney Freeman also ended the day in double-figures with Sharkey recording 15 points along with 11 boards and Freeman tallying 13 points and six rebounds.
A Courtney Freeman layup gave ASU its largest lead of the afternoon, going up 52 points, and the Mountaineers rolled to the 47 point victory.
The Apps had not defeated its opponent by more than 45 points since 1994, when handing Davidson a 49 point loss.
The Mountaineers look to carry their momentum into their season-opener, as they take on Marshall in Hungtington, W.Va., Friday November 13 at 7 p.m.
Elon 100, Apprentice School 32
ELON, N.C. - The Elon women's basketball team hit triple digits and held the Apprentice School to just 11 second half points en route to a 100-32 win over the Builders in the only exhibition game this season.
"I was very proud of the effort of the team today," said head coach Karen Barefoot. "We were able to give a lot of players minutes today and hopefully we can build off of this win as we face Youngstown State and Navy this weekend."
Freshman Ali Ford made a strong debut for the Phoenix, scoring 16 on 6-of-13 shooting to lead all scorers. Kallie Hovatter and Julie Taylor added 12 and 11 points, respectively, as the team shot 51.3 percent from the field. Ford tacked on a game-high five steals to lead the Phoenix. Freshman Kelsey Evans was one point shy of a double-double with nine points and a game-best 11 rebounds. Fellow newcomer Lei Lei Hairston added nine boards.
The Builders' Jasmine Pringle led the team with 10 points followed by Valerie Creecy with eight. Creecy pulled down 11 boards for the Apprentice School. Pringle and Jasmine Gerald recorded four steals each.
Elon held the lead for the entire game, but the Builders kept it close in the first half. The Builders came to within two at the 19-17 mark, but the Phoenix outscored the Apprentice School 23-4 to close the first half with a 42-21 lead.
Courtney Medley scored the opening two points of the second half as Elon saw its lead increase to 25. A pair of free throws and a layup by Ford brought the score to 56-21 with 15:32 remaining in the game. Elon held the Apprentice School scoreless in the second half until LaTorya Grimes made a free throw at the 13:36 mark.
Elon answered with 21 straight points that made it an 81-22 game. Elon allowed just eight points in the final six minutes and hit the century mark on a layup by Lisa Archie with 11 seconds on the clock.
The Phoenix recorded 24 steals and three blocks. Elon scored 62 points in the paint and tallied 46 points on 43 Builders' miscues. The Phoenix bench finished with 59 points compared to 14 by the Apprentice School.
Elon will open its regular season as it hosts Youngstown State at 7 p.m., on Friday, November 13 in the Phoenix Classic Presented by Comfort Inn.