Davidson 82, Old Dominion 73
NORFOLK, Va. – Senior Sophia Aleksandravicius dominated in the paint with her 20th double-double to pace four Wildcats in double figures and Davidson won the program’s first postseason game with an 82-73 victory on the road at Old Dominion in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament Thursday evening at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
A two-time Southern Conference Player of the Year, Aleksandravicius had 27 points and pulled in 11 rebounds for her 50th career double-double. She went a career-best 11-for-14 from the charity stripe as Davidson hit 20 shots at the line.
Laura Murray (16), Dakota Dukes (season-best tying 15) and Jasmine Calin (season-high 10) also registered double figures in points as Davidson moved to 22-12 on the season.
Barbara Sitton for the second game in a row hauled in double figures in rebounds, pulling in a career-best 11 on the defensive end. She also dished out seven assists and pocketed four steals.
Davidson as a team pulled in a season-high 57 rebounds, including a season-best 20 on the offensive glass. It also assisted on 21 of its 29 field goals.
The Wildcats will head back home to play cross-county rival Charlotte, which defeat Appalachian State in the first round, for a Sunday matchup at 2 p.m. in the second round of the WNIT.
ODU (19-12) put three players in double digits, led by Shae Kelley’s 21 points. Stephanie Gardner had 15 and Galaisha Goodhope scored 11. The Monarchs, who had not played in 18 days, shot 40.8 percent for the game.
Davidson took control of the contest with a 17-4 run to close the first half that turned a 25-24 deficit with 9:44 remaining into a 41-29 lead at the break. Aleksandravicius and Calin had 11 and eights points, respectively, in the half.
Dukes helped push the lead out 16 (51-35) with six points in the first four minutes of the second half. An Aleksandravicius’ and-one play two minutes later gave the Wildcats its biggest lead of the game at 58-40 when she swished home the free throw.
Old Dominion went on a 15-7 run to cut the deficit to 10 (65-55) with 7:48 on the clock. Kelley scored the final seven points of the spurt.
Davidson came right back, pushing its lead out to 74-59 on a pair of free throws from Katrin Chiemeka with 4:06 left and did not allow the lead to slip below 11 the rest of the way until the final score.
This is the Wildcats’ second straight appearance in the WNIT and third-ever postseason appearance in school history.
Charlotte 79, Appalachian State 61
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Anna Freeman scored a game-high 20 points in her final collegiate game, but it was not enough as Appalachian State University women’s basketball fell to Charlotte, 79-61, in the first round of the 2013 WNIT on Thursday at Halton Arena.
The Mountaineers (20-11) were able to hang with the 49ers (25-5) for most of the contest, but a late Charlotte run would seal the deal and send the Apps to a season-ending defeat.
Freeman was able to notch the first points of the game when she drilled a shot from beyond the arc at the 19:15 mark of the first half to put Appalachian up 3-0, but Charlotte was able to overcome the quick start by the Mountaineers to pick up its seventh-straight home win.
The 49ers and Mountaineers traded jabs throughout the opening five minutes before Charlotte snagged an 11-9 lead when Jennifer Hailey converted a three-point play with 14:23 remaining in the first half.
Despite keeping it close nearly the entire game, Appalachian was never able to regain the lead as the 49ers used Hailey’s play to spark a 7-0 run and grab a 15-9 lead with 13:40 left in the opening half.
Appalachian was able to trim the deficit to one point on several occasions over the next few minutes, but Charlotte answered to extend the lead to 34-24 with 3:06 to go. The Mountaineers were able to cut the 49er lead to just five points (38-33) when Bria Huffman nailed a layup just before halftime.
The 49ers jumped back out to an eight-point lead (45-37) in the opening five minutes of the second half, but the Mountaineers cut the deficit to just two points (45-43) on Freeman’s jumper with 13:16 left to play.
With the outcome still hanging in the balance and Charlotte nursing a 49-46 lead at the 9:53 mark, the 49ers were able to take control with a 15-6 run to take it’s largest lead of the game at 64-52 with just 5:28 on the clock.
The Mountaineers were never able to threaten from there as Charlotte led by as many as 20 points (79-59) with 1:13 to play and slammed the door shut to grab the 79-61 win and advance to the second round of the WNIT.
Freeman led the Apps with 20 points to go along with five rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Huffman added 11 points off the bench and Maryah Sydnor finished with nine.
Charlotte saw two players record double-doubles as Hailey scored 20 points and ripped down 11 boards while Amanda Dowe notched 19 points and 16 rebounds. Ayanna Holmes scored 10 points off the bench and Ny Hammonds dished out 10 assists.
The 49ers shot 47.7 percent (31-of-65) on the night while holding the Mountaineers to just 39.0 percent (23-of-59) from the floor. Charlotte finished with a 45-32 edge in rebounds and dished out 22 turnovers to Appalachian’s 13 while committing 16 turnovers to App State’s 20.
Appalachian State ended its season with its fourth-straight postseason appearance and third-straight in the WNIT.