Davidson 90, Wofford 68
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Freshman Sophia Aleksandravicius (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) led four players in double figures with 26 points off the bench and added nine rebounds, and the Davidson women¹s basketball team rolled to a 90-68 victory over visiting Wofford on Sunday afternoon in Southern Conference action at John M. Belk Arena.
Aleksandravicius, fresh off a 19-point and 16-rebound effort on Monday vs. Appalachian State, hit a season-best 10 of her 19 shots from the field and added six more points at charity stripe for her second 20-point game of the season. She assisted the Wildcat bench to a season-high 47 points, and also played a key part in their 46-point effort in the paint.
Redshirt sophomore Chloe Woodington (Honolulu, Hawaii) nearly finished perfect from the field, hitting 4-of-5 field goals, including a trey, and drained a pair of free throws for 11 points. She hauled in four rebounds and dished out four assists, both season highs.
Davidson as a team had 18 assists, led by Alex Thompson's (Asheville, N.C.) season-high tying six, and nailed 50 percent of its shots, including a 54.3 percent clip in the second half. In all, four players shot over 50 percent from the field and the Wildcat starting lineup hit half of its 26 shots as they had their best offensive output of the season.
Starters Thompson and Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.) also hit the double-digit mark in points with 14 and 15, respectively.
Wofford placed four players in double figures, with Maddie Helms pacing them with 18 points. She swished home four of the Terriers¹ eight three-pointers on the afternoon.
Paquette gave the Wildcats a nine-point lead (47-38) on a layup in the early going of the second half, but Wofford came back to cut the lead down to two, 50-48, after a three-ball from Rachel Brittenham, forcing a Wildcat 30-second timeout at 13:34.
Out of the quick break in action, Davidson turned up its play and took control of the game by going on a 14-2 run over the next four minutes to grab a 64-50 lead. The 'Cats got eight points during that stretch off of four Terrier turnovers and would go on to score 10 more in the half off of Terrier miscues. The Wildcats finished with 32 total points off of 24 Wofford errors.
A three-ball later from the left wing by Thompson, one of three on the afternoon for her, pushed the lead out to 21 and it would grow to as many as 25 before the final score of 90-68.
Wofford kept things close in the first half, tying things up at 14-all after a Kathlyn Varno bucket in the paint at the 12:52 mark. Varno was one of three Terriers to hit for an even 10 points in the game, with eight of those points coming in the first half.
Then after the Wildcats went on a 13-2 run for a 27-16 advantage with 9:04 on the clock, a jumper by Varno started a 16-4 Terrier run that she would then finish off by getting a layup, and Wofford held a 32-31 lead with 2:22 left in the half.
After the seventh tie in the half at 35-all, Davidson would go into halftime up two, 38-36, thanks to a stellar three-point play from freshman Jasmine Calin (Miami, Fla.) with 30 seconds left.
Davidson will next take to the road for a non-conference tilt against Radford next Friday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m.
Game Notes: Davidson has won 15 of the last 17 meetings now against Wofford ... the 'Cats pushed their home win streak in the all-time series vs. the Terriers to eight in a row ... the 90 points, a season-high, was the fifth time in the last eight meetings at Belk Arena Davidson has scored at least 80 points ... Aleksandravicius has led the team in scoring three of the past four games, clipping the 20-point mark twice ... Davidson had its best game of the season at the 15-foot line, canning 22 of its 28 free throws ... the 52 second half points were the most this season and the second time this year the Wildcats have scored that many in a half ... head coach Annette Watts is seven wins away from reaching the 100 plateau in SoCon victories.
Elon 71, Winston-Salem State 59
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Elon snapped its four-game losing streak with a 71-59 win over Winston-Salem State on Sunday afternoon at the C.E. Gaines Center. Urysla Cotton was 8-of-10 from the field and led the Phoenix with 16 points. Kallie Hovatter finished in double figures with 10 points. Elon improved to 3-5 on the season, while Winston-Salem State fell to 2-7.
Amber Wall pulled down a season-best 12 rebounds while forcing three turnovers to lead the Phoenix defensively. Ali Ford finished with nine points, all of which came in the final 20 minutes of play. She dished out two assists and forced the Lady Rams to turn the ball over five times. Kelsey Evans was Elon's second leading rebounder with eight boards. Evans also finished with two blocks and a steal.
WSSU's Vontisha Woods led all scorers with 23 points and led the Lady Rams with eight rebounds. She also recorded three steals. Jillian Charlet and Rene Rector each finished with nine points.
Leading 13-7, the Phoenix answered went on a 5-0 run that allowed it an 18-7 lead with 11:14 remaining in the half. A 6-3 run capped off by a Charlet three-pointer helped WSSU cut the Phoenix lead to 25-23 with only three minutes remaining before the break. Elon answered with a 7-2 run that sent it into the half leading 32-25.
The Phoenix scored the opening six points of the second half, forcing the Lady Rams to call a timeout after two minutes of play. A Hovatter layup made it a 42-30 game with 14:21 left on the clock. Ford scored her first points of the game on a three-pointer with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game. She dished a behind-the-back pass to Tiara Gause that gave Elon a 52-40 lead. Elon took its largest lead of the night at 19 points after a foul by the Lady Rams sent Julie Taylor the charity stripe where she drained both shots. Winston-Salem State ended the game on a 6-1 run, but it was not enough as the Phoenix earned a 71-59 win.
Neither team was able to take care of the ball, combining for 59 turnovers. The Phoenix turned the ball over 31 times with the Lady Rams to scoring 23 points off of the miscues. Elon tallied 23 points off of 28 Winston-Salem State turnovers. Elon made its presence known inside, totaling 38 points in the paint and pulling down 43 rebounds. Elon was 23-of-46 from the field and shot 50 percent as a team for the first time since the season opener.
Elon will return to the friendly confines of Alumni Gym on Thursday, December 17 at 7 p.m., as it steps back into Southern Conference play against Chattanooga. Live stats and video streaming will be available for the game at www.elonphoenix.com.
Furman 76, Stetson 60
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Kaitlin Murphy and Raegan Thompson tallied 15 points apiece to lead a balanced attack in Furman's 76-60 triumph over Setson in women's basketball action Sunday afternoon on Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena.
Murphy and Thompson, both freshmen guards, paced a Paladin effort that netted five double figure scorers in helping Furman (3-8) to its first home win in four outings this season. Freshman center Lakyn Ledford, added 13 points and a game high rebounds, and Kali Holtfreter scored 12 points. Kendra Berry rounded out the Paladins' double figure scoring parade with 11 points.
Daphnee Frieson and Ashli Jackson led Stetson (0-7) with 13 points apiece.
Furman posted a 29-9 scoring differential on 28 Stetson turnovers and converted 29-of-40 free throws in the contest compared to the Hatters' 6-of-8 shooting from the charity stripe.
After trailing 19-11 midway through the first half, Furman used a 20-6 run over the remaining of the first half to take a 31-25 lead into intermission.
The Paladins maintained their lead in the second half, using a Thompson 3-pointer and Berry jump shot to push the margin to 11 points at 53-42 win 9:24 to go.
A Frieson free throw with 5:38 remaining got Stetson to within seven points at 56-49, but Furman answered with a pair of Murphy free throws and a Holtfreter 3-pointer to quickly push the margin back into double digits.
Furman shot 44.4 percent from the field (20-of-45) in the contest, including 55.0 percent (11-of-20) in the second half. Stetson, meanwhile, made 23-of-57 field goal attempts (40.4 percent).
Murphy's performance included solid work at the free thrown line, where she drained 10-of-12 attempts. She also claimed five steals.
Frieson paced all rebounders with 13 boards.
Furman returns to action on Saturday when it takes on the College of Charleston in a 3:00 p.m. home game.