Michele Savage - Women's Basketball Coach - Davidson College Athletics

Michele Savage

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
misavage@davidson.edu
Phone:
2372

On May 28, 2010, Davidson College Athletic Director Jim Murphy announced the hiring of Michele Savage as the head coach for the Wildcat women’s basketball program. She is the 11th head coach in the program’s 35-year history as she enters her seventh season for the 2016-17 campaign, which has the Wildcats playing its third year in the Atlantic 10.

Welcome to Davidson- Savage Press Releases
•Savage Named Head Coach
•Taking a Timeout With Savage
•Savage Garners Coach of the Year | Media Names Savage Coach of Year
•Savage Collects 75th Career Win
•Savage, WBB Program Picks Up First-Ever Atlantic 10 Win

Quick Highlights...
•Named 2011-12 Southern Conference Coach of the Year by media and coaches after guiding Davidson to a 22-10 record and school-best 17-3 mark in SoCon play.
•Won 50th career game at Appalachian State, Feb. 9, 2013 with a 56-49 victory.
•Ranks third all-time with 90 wins and had 53 of those against SoCon foes, second-most.
•Led Davidson to the program’s first regular season SoCon title in 2011-12.
•Coached arguably the best player in program history in Sophia Aleksandravicius, who was a two-time SoCon Player and Defender of the Year, the 2013 SoCon Athlete of the Year, a three-time All-SoCon First Team member and set seven all-time career records.
•Coached the all-time scoring leading Laura Murray, who was a three-time All-SoCon First Team.
•Registered back-to-back 22-win seasons in 2011-12 & 2012-13.
•Led Davidson to back-to-back trips to the SoCon Championship title game in 2013 & 2014.
•Led the Wildcats to back-to-back postseason trips with bids into the Women’s NIT in 2012 & 2013.
•Led Davidson to a school-record 12 homes wins in 2011-12.
•Guided the ‘Cats to a school-best eight-game road win streak and tying a school record with eight straight in the SoCon on the road all in 2013.
•Coached Davidson to the program’s first-ever Atlantic 10 win, Jan. 18, 2015 with a win at Saint Louis.
•Has coached 13 SoCon academic honor roll players, four A-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll players, four All-SoCon players, five 1,000-point scorers, four all-league Freshmen Team members, one SoCon Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year.
•Has coached three Rebecca E. Stimson Award winners (Aleksandrivius, Murray and Hannah Early), given to Davidson's top female athlete in recognition of outstanding dedication and contribution to intercollegiate athletics.

Davidson, Through the Years
Entering its second year in the Atlantic 10, Savage helped the Wildcats improve across the board with six more wins overall and four in league play. Davidson went 11-19 on the season, while finishing 12th with a 5-11 A-10 mark. The Wildcats ran off a season-high three-game win streak, including collecting a thrilling double-overtime win at High Point. In addition, they recorded the program's first two-game A-10 win streak, collecting victories at VCU on national television and then at home vs. Fordham. The triumph at home vs. the Rams was Davidson's first league home victory in its new conference and the biggest in its two years so far at 69-51.

Savage guided the 'Cats to six non-conference wins, marking the most since the Wildcats went 6-5 during the 2007-08 season. They also won the program’s seventh in-season tournament title since 1992-93 when they took home wins against Bowling Green and UNC Wilmington at the UNCW Thanksgiving Tournament. It was the second in-season tournament title under Savage for Davidson.

Senior Hannah Early and Dakota Dukes, under the direction of Savage, left their marks scattered throughout the Wildcats' record books. Early was honored with the Rebecca E. Stimson award as the top female athlete at Davidson. She finished her career as the program's all-time record holder in three-pointers, while ranking fourth in scoring with 1,406. Dukes concluded her career with 1,280 points, eighth-most all-time in the record books. Her name is found in nine overall categories in the Wildcat top-15, including third in made free throws (350) and second in attempts (486), and fifth in rebounds with 734.

The 2014-15 season marked a new era for the women's basketball program as Savage, in her fifth season, helped Davidson usher in its first year in the Atlantic 10. The Wildcats won their first-ever A-10 game on the road with a 53-50 win at Saint Louis to open the month of January. It would be the only win though in league play, as they went 1-15 in their first year and 5-25 overall. The 'Cats played 10 new opponents during the campaign, with nine of them being from the A-10.

Savage helped the program win its 400th game in its 36th season with a road win at Gardner-Webb, Nov. 20, 2014. The victory also marked her 75th career win at Davidson.

Under the guidance of Savage, junior Hannah Early became the 17th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points as she accomplished the feat during the 2014-15 season. It was the fourth time during Savage's tenure a Wildcat had reached the 1,000-point mark. Early also went on to set a single season record for three-pointers with 74. Freshman Mackenzie Latt had a great debut season for Savage, earning a spot on the A-10 All-Freshman Team, while earning two A-10 Rookie of the Week awards. Fellow classmate Saadia Timpton also earned an A-10 Rookie of the Week award during the season. Davidson as a team tied the single game record for blocks with 12 in a 76-57 home win over High Point.

In Davidson's final season in the Southern Conference, Savage, in her fourth year, coached the Wildcats to a third place finish with an 11-7 record and a 16-16 mark overall in 2013-14. They reached the SoCon Championship game for the second year in a row, falling to Chattanooga. Savage collected her 50th career SoCon victory at UNCG, Feb. 8, 2014. She moved into second place in program history in league wins, finishing with 52. Davidson as a team tied the single season record for three-pointers with 180. It reached the 10-win plateau for the 11th time in the past 12 years in SoCon victories and had a seven-game home SoCon win streak that spanned from the end of the 2012-13 season into the first three league games of the 2013-14 campaign.

For the second year in a row, Savage saw one of the players in program history become its all-time scoring leader when Laura Murray hit her last bucket in the SoCon Final to set the record with 1,880 points, suprassing Sophia Aleksandravicius, who set the record the year before. Under Savage, Murray also became the program's all-time leader in made and attempted three-pointers and field goals attempted. In addition, the guard's senior season saw her set the single-season Wildcat record for points with 617, field goals attempted and free throws attempted.

Savage coached three all-league players in 2013-14, starting with Murray, who was a first team pick by both the coaches and the media. Dakota Dukes was also named to the first team by the coaches and teamed with Hannah Early on the second team for the media squad. The pair of Murray and Dukes were named to the SoCon All-Tournament First Team, with Murray becoming the first player in program history to earn the feat three times. She also joined Aleksandravicius as the only two players to earn All-SoCon First Team by the coaches.

Savage guided the Wildcats to their second straight 20-win campaign in 2012-13, as they followed up one of their best season's in program history with yet another strong year. Davidson finished 22-13 overall and went second in the SoCon with a 16-4 record. The 'Cats' 22 wins were tied for the second-most in program history. They rode their outstanding season all the way to the conference tournament championship game, before falling to Chattanooga in a last-second affair. It was just the second time in program history Davidson had reached the final.

The Wildcats' season did not end there as they earned their second straight postseason appearance, and third overall, with a bid into the Women's NIT. They made history winning the program's first postseason game, taking home a first round victory on the road at Old Dominion, 83-72.

Savage coached arguably the best player in program history in two-time SoCon Player and Defender of the Year Sophia Aleksandravicius. The senior at the broke seven all-time records during her three years under Savage, while being named to the coaches and media's all-league first team three times. Aleksandravicius capped off her career by being named the SoCon Female Athlete of the Year, the first female from Davidson to earn the honor. She was also earned the Davidson athletic department's Rebecca A. Stimson Award as the top female student-athlete at the school.

Also during 2012-13, Savage saw Laura Murray become the 16th Wildcat to score over 1,000 career points and earn a spot on the All-SoCon First Team by the coaches and second team by the media. Murray and Aleksandravicius were both named to the SoCon All-Tournament First Team. Dakota Dukes was named to the league's all-freshman team. February 9 was a special day for Savage as she collected her 50th career coaching win at Davidson in a 56-49 road victory at Appalachian State.

In 2012-13, Davidson set a school record with an eight-game road overall win streak, all against SoCon foes. The eight-game SoCon streak tied a school record set from 2005-06 and 2006-07.

The 2011-12 season saw Savage guide the Wildcats to one of their best seasons in program history. They captured the program’s first SoCon Regular-Season Title with a school-best mark of 17-3, while the ‘Cats’ 22 wins were second-most in school history. Davidson also set a school mark for home wins (12-1), while it earned the program’s 350th win during the season.

For all her accomplishments, Savage was honored by the coaches and media as she was named the 2011-12 SoCon Coach of the Year. She is the second coach in Wildcat history to garner the media’s top coach, while she is the first to be coach of the year in the coaches all-league team. Davidson’s trip to the Women’s NIT was the program’s second-ever bid into postseason play.

In addition, Savage coached the league’s player and defender of the Year in Aleksandravicius, who also was a first-teamer on both the coaches and media teams, and Laura Murray, who was an All-SoCon First Team member on both teams as well.

Savage's first season, 2010-11, saw Davidson go 14-17 overall and sport an 8-12 campaign in the Southern Conference. The first-year head coach led the 'Cats to their first league tournament win since 2007 with a 69-53 victory against College of Charleston. They also nearly pulled off an upset of No. 1-seeded Appalachian State in the quarterfinals, before falling 73-63. Savage coached the SoCon Freshman of the Year in Murray and saw Aleksandravicius earn a spot on both the coaches and media All-SoCon First Team, while also pick up first-team all-state honors.

During the regular season, Savage led Davidson to the program's fourth in-season tournament title when the Wildcats captured the UTSA Thanksgiving Tournament with the program's first-ever wins over North Texas and UTSA, Nov. 26-27. The 'Cats also had their 10th straight winning season at home, going 8-5.

Before Davidson- Part of a Successful Run at Tulane
A Street & Smith’s All-American during her playing days at Northwestern, Savage came to Davidson after serving as an assistant coach at Tulane University from 2001-10. While at Tulane, Savage’s duties touched all areas of the program as she coached the Green Wave post players on a day-to-day basis and worked with recruiting, directing Tulane’s scouting efforts and overseeing the team's academic progress. She was the women’s basketball program’s liaison with the athletic department’s marketing and game management units among many other responsibilities.

During her nine years at Tulane, the Green Wave twice hit the 26-win plateau and reached the NCAA Tournament in 2002, 2003 and 2010. The 2009-10 season saw Tulane go 26-7, earn the Conference USA regular-season title and earn an automatic bid to the postseason after winning the C-USA Tournament. Savage helped lead Tulane to two Conference USA regular-season titles and a Women’s NIT bid in 2007.

She helped develop several top Green Wave players who were selected by USA Today for All-American Honorable Mention as well as several first-team Conference USA players. In addition, she had the chance to coach two players, Teana McKiver and Gwen Slaughter, who went on to play in the WNBA.

Assistant Positions at Cornell, Toledo and Chicago State
The Illinois native came to Tulane after two seasons as an assistant coach at Cornell University (1999-00 & 2000-01). She helped the Big Red achieve its best season in school history while signing three players who earned honorable mention All-America honors in high school - two from New York and one from New Mexico. Her specific duties included coordinating Cornell’s recruiting efforts and supervising the skill development and workouts of the post players.

Prior to her arrival at Cornell, Savage spent the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons as an assistant coach at Toledo, where she coached the post players and served as recruiting coordinator. She helped guide the Rockets to a Mid-American Conference championship and a No. 25 ranking. In 1998-99, Toledo advanced to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed, and its star player, Kim Knuth, the two-time Mid-America Conference Player of the Year, was named honorable mention All-America.

Before coaching at Toledo, Savage spent two seasons at Chicago State University.

Hall of Fame Collegiate Career at Northwestern
Savage graduated from Northwestern University in 1993 after a standout career with the Wildcats. A three-time All-Big Ten selection, she was a Kodak All-District choice in 1990, 1991 and 1992 and earned All-America recognition from Street & Smith’s in 1991. She helped lead the Wildcats to the 1990 Big Ten Championship and to appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 1990 and 1991 as NU posted 20-plus wins both years.

One of the top 15 players in the nation as a high school senior, she led Northwestern in scoring three times and was also the team’s top rebounder in 1990 and 1991. Her career field goal percentage of .606 is still a school record as is her .652 single-season mark from 1990. Savage scored in double figures in 25 straight games as a junior and had a 23-game double-figure scoring streak in her senior season. Savage was inducted in the Northwestern Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Illinois Hall of Fame in 2008.

Year	W	L	Pct.	School
2010-11	14	17	.452	Davidson (8-12 SoCon)
2011-12	22	10	.688	(17-3 SoCon, Co-Regular Season Champions)
2012-13	22	13	.629	(16-4 SoCon, 2nd)
2013-14	16	16	.500	(11-7 SoCon, 3rd)
2014-15	5	25	.167	(1-15 A-10, 14th)
2015-16	11	19	.367	(5-11 A-10, 12th)
Total	90	100	.474	6 years