Davidson 58, Samford 38

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –  Sophia Aleksandravicius, Barbara Sitton and Sarah Davis combined for 39 of the Wildcats’ 58 points, and the defense held Samford to 26.8 percent shooting as Davidson rolled to its eighth road win in a row by the score of 58-38 Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center in women’s Southern Conference basketball action.

Davidson’s eight-game road win streak sets a new program-best in SoCon games, while its one off the overall school-best. The Wildcats (18-9, 15-2 SoCon) won their fourth overall, while Samford fell to 12-15, 9-9 in the SoCon.

Aleksandravicius led the team in scoring for the 18th time with a game-high 16 points to go with six rebounds and three blocks. Sitton matched a season-high with her second straight 12-point outing, while adding eight assists and six rebounds in 31 minutes.

Davis went 4-for-5 from the field and picked up three more points at the line for 11 off the bench. The senior scored seven of the ‘Cats’ final 13 points as they picked up their fourth 20-point win of the year.

Hannah Dawson registered a double-double for Samford on Senior Day with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Jazmine Martin added eight points and six rebounds as both players were honored prior to the game.

The Wildats held the Bulldogs to 15-of-56 shooting and just 3-for-23 from three-land. They also forced 16 turnovers and turned those into 18 points, while picking up 40 of their 58 points in the paint.

Aleksandravicius (12) and Sitton (8) combined for 20 first-half points as the Wildcats went into the break up 28-18. Aleksandravicius scored nine straight at one time as Davidson build a 20-9 lead with six minutes left in the half.

The defense held the Bulldogs to just 28.6 percent shooting in the half, including 1-for-11 from behind the arc.

A three-point play by Katrin Chiemeka and a Davis layup in the start of the second half made it 41-22 with 14:27.

Samford used a 13-4 run to cut the 19-point deficit down to 10 (45-35) with 5:39 left, but Davis took over and scored five straight, and Davidson outscored the Bulldogs 13-3 for the win.

Davidson finished with a 41-37 edge on the boards and dished out 19 assists on 24 made field goals.

Furman 74, Elon 71

Greenville, S.C. – Brittany Hodges tallied 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to pace Furman past Elon, 74-71, in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Saturday afternoon on YP.com Court at Timmons Arena.

The Paladins, who snapped a three-game losing streak, improved to 11-15 overall and 7-10 in SoCon play.  Elon slipped to 14-12 overall and 11-6 in the league.

Furman led 68-60 after a pair of Hodges free throws with 3:45 remaining.  Ali Ford answered with a three-pointer and drained a pair of free throws on Elon’s next possession to cut the lead to 68-65 with 2:13 to play.  After Hodges converted in the paint to up the margin to five points, Ford scored on a driving layup and Sam Cofer followed an Elon rebound by hitting 1-of-2 free throws to cut the Paladin lead to 70-69.

Following a 30-second timeout by Furman, Teshia Griswold scored with 31 seconds to play to increase the lead to 72-69.  Hodges rejected Ford’s jumper on the ensuing possession and Griswold finished the game by converting on a pair of free throws with five seconds left to secure the victory for Furman.

Furman shot 45.9% from the field, including 5-of-16 from the three-point range, while making 13-of-18 free throws.  The Paladins out-rebounded the Phoenix 39-32 and committed just 16 turnovers.

Hodges made all eight of her field goal attempts and added two blocked shots and two steals to pace the Paladins.  Griswold tallied 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting and Holli Wilkins totaled 13 points.  Kaitlin Murphy added 11 points and a game-high six assists.

Kelsey Evans led Elon with 17 points while Ford and Zora Stephenson added 15 and 14 points, respectively.  The Phoenix shot 47.5% from the floor, but Elon made just 5-of-16 from long range and just 9-of-16 at the foul line.

Furman used a 17-6 first half run to break a 17-17 tie and build an 11-point cushion before carrying a 38-30 lead into intermission.  The Paladins pushed the margin to 15 points at 52-37 before Elon used a 19-7 run to get back in the game in the final minutes.

Georgia Southern 68, Wofford 59

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Meredyth Frye (Fredericksburg, Va.) scored 17 points to go over 1,000 for her career, and Georgia Southern held off a late run by Wofford to earn a 68-59 Southern Conference women’s basketball victory over the Terriers Saturday afternoon in Benjamin Johnson Arena.

Anna Claire scored a career-high 24 points and added five rebounds to lead the Eagles (6-20, 5-12 SoCon), and Alexis Sams scored 11. MiMi DuBose and Danielle Spencer each scored eight, and Spencer corralled eight rebounds.

Daniella Motley led Wofford (7-18, 2-15 SoCon) with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Rachel Brittenham scored 12. Morgan Wrightson netted nine points.

The Eagles led by 16 points following a DuBose layup with 6:13 to go, but Wofford used a 12-2 run over 4:51 of game time to trim the margin to six points with 1:22 remaining. Knight was fouled on a fast-break layup attempt and hit a free throw to push the lead to seven, and the Eagle defense came away with two stops. Spencer and Sams each hit a pair from the free-throw line to seal the win.

Frye had two baskets on turnaround jumpers in the post early in the game and then was fouled on her way to the basket with 11:23 left in the first half. The senior sank both free throws, putting her over the 1,000-point mark for her career. She also collected four rebounds and a team-high five assists on the afternoon.

Georgia Southern matched its season high by shooting 45 percent from the floor while holding the Terriers to 35 percent. The Eagles connected on 7-of-16 3-pointers and made 15-of-19 from the charity stripe. GSU also had 15 assists on 23 made buckets.

The Eagles finished the first half with six straight points, including a pair of Knight jumpers, to push a one-point lead to a 33-26 cushion at the break.

After Wrightson scored four straight points to trim the margin to five points early in the second period, Sams hit two triples in a 14-4 run to help GSU take control of the contest. The margin grew to as many as 18 points as Knight hit a triple and followed it with a layup, making the score 54-36 with 9:26 left.