Duquesne 84, Davidson 53
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Duquesne’s Alex Gensler and Vanessa Abel combined to score the first 25 points to open the second half and each scored over 20 points for the game to send Davidson to 84-53 setback on the road on Sunday afternoon in A.J. Palumbo Center.
Abel had 22 points to pace the Dukes (4-1) and Gensler closed with 21. The duo sparked a 19-6 run to open the second half to push a 39-33 lead at halftime out to 58-39. They went on to score five more points and the Dukes led by as many as 32 in the second half.
Gensler hit three treys in the run and was a perfect 5-for-5 for the contest from behind the arc. Three other Dukes reached the double-digit mark, and as a team, they shot 51.6 percent, which included 54.5 percent in the second half.
Sophia Aleksandravicius pushed her double-figure streak to nine games with a team-high 12 points for Davidson, which fell to 2-4 on the season. Shneeka Center came off the bench for a season-high 12 and Sarah Davis chipped in with eight points.
Davidson dropped its ninth straight road contest, dating back to last season, and fell to 1-2 in the all-time series vs. Duquesne. The Wildcats were once again hurt by the turnover bug, coughing the ball up 27 times which resulted in 43 points for the Dukes.
For the fifth time in the past nine halves, Davidson shot better than 50 better percent as it finished at 56.5 percent (13-23) in the first half. The solid shooting helped the Wildcats erase a 33-17 deficit midway through the half and they closed to within six at the break, 39-33.
Down 33-17 after Duquesne rattled off a 12-3 run, Center sparked an 11-0 run with an and-one play and Aleksandravicius scored six straight points with Davis chipping in four to bring the ‘Cats within five at 33-28 at the 2:26 mark.
Duquesne’s Carly Vendemia closed the half scoring the Dukes’ last four points and had nine for the period.
Davidson next plays a home contest on Thursday, Dec. 1, against Big South-foe Winthrop. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
East Carolina 60, Elon 46
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The Elon women’s basketball team could not overcome a late double-digit deficit against the East Carolina Lady Pirates on Sunday evening, Nov. 27, falling 60-46 on the final day of the ECU Thanksgiving Tournament.
Elon (2-3) could not find a match for ECU (3-2) in the post without forwards Kelsey Evans and Candice Silas, as the Lady Pirates finished the night with a 54-34 advantage on the glass en route to 32 points in the paint and 14 second-chance points.
Ali Ford led the maroon in gold with 12 points, all coming via three-point land. For her efforts this weekend, Ford was named to the all-tournament team.
Kelsey Harris was the only other Elon player in double figures with 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field.
As a team, Elon shot just 33 percent from the field (18-of-54) and free throw line (6-of-18) in the setback.
Shala Hodges led all scorers with 15 points, while Chareya Smith finished with a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards.
The Elon defense limited the Lady Pirates to 35-percent shooting from the field on the night and forced ECU into 20 turnovers that led to 12 points.
The Pirates took their largest lead of the half with 4:39 remaining in the first half and forced an Elon timeout after a Chareya Smith layup made it a 29-15 game.
But the Phoenix responded toward the end of the half after back-to-back three-pointers by Ford limited ECU to a 29-21 lead with less than four minutes left.
The deficit remained at eight points, 32-24, at intermission, as the Phoenix shot 31 percent (10-of-32) from the field in the opening frame. The battle on the boards proved to be the deciding factor in the first 20 minutes, as the Pirates dominated the glass, 29-18, which included 11 offensive rebounds that led to 10 second-chance points.
After the Pirates jumped out to a 12-point lead nearly midway through the second half, Lisa Archie helped the Phoenix pull back within seven after coming up with two big blocks on defense that led to five points to make it a 41-34 game.
The Pirates claimed their largest lead of the game with 8:03 remaining after Janesha Ebron leaked out following a missed jumper by the Phoenix for a layup to put Elon behind, 51-36.
East Carolina managed to keep the Phoenix at a safe distance over the final stretch of the game, as Elon could pull no closer than 14 points. ECU held Elon without a field goal over the final 4:20 of the game.
Elon opens Southern Conference play at home on Saturday, Dec. 3, when preseason league favorite Chattanooga comes to Alumni Gym for a 7 p.m. tip.