Davidson Captures Carolina First Classic Title with 59-42 win over GSU

Saturday, November 17

Asheville, N.C.

4 p.m.

Davidson College Athletics

vs. Georgia State

Davidson Captures Carolina First Classic Title with 59-42 win over GSU

11/17/2007 5:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID

Box Score

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Freshman Kelsey Cary (Anselmo, Calif.) pulled down a season- and game-best 12 rebounds, sophomore Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) added nine points and four assists in her return trip back home, and junior Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore, Md.) registered the Wildcats' first double-double of the season as the Davidson women's basketball team secured the Carolina First Classic title with a 59-42 win over Georgia State in the championship game on Saturday afternoon at the Justice Center on the campus of UNC Asheville.

The title marked the third in the past four years for Davidson when playing in-season tournaments. It's also the second time the Wildcats have defeated GSU in a championship game after winning a 63-56 decision at the Panthers own holiday tournament in 2005-06.

Davidson, who defeated UNC Asheville in the first game of the classic on Friday, ran its overall mark to 2-1, while the Panthers fell to 1-2 on the season.

Cary, who tallied a season-high 23 points in the win over the Bulldogs, added eight points and two assists to finish the weekend with 31 points, 20 rebounds, four assists and two steals to earn MVP honors. The freshman hit 10-of-15 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 from downtown.

Thompson thrilled her hometown fans for two days with numerous nice passes, clutch shots and some hard-nosed Wildcat defense. The 'Cats point guard finished the two-day classic with double-double numbers, 15 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, while nailing 6-of-9 shots from the field. For her efforts, Thompson was named to the all-tournament team.

Davidson raced out to a 15-7 lead behind the strong play of Robinson. The junior forward closed out the contest with a career-high 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for her fourth career double-double. Her 11 rebounds helped Davidson for the second straight game haul in 50 or more boards as the Wildcats finished with 52. Robinson was also a key factor in helping Davidson net 32 of its 59 points in the paint, scoring all but three of her points down low.

Robinson scored on back-to-back buckets inside to give the Wildcats the eight-point advantage (15-7) as she scored an early eight points in the first nine minutes of play. She later added her first career three-ball from the top of the key to spark an 11-4 run to close out the half and finished the first stanza with 11 points to help Davidson to a 28-20 lead at the break.

The Wildcats defense was on full display as normal, holding GSU to just 8-of-33 shooting (24.2 percent) in the first half and just 23.5 percent for the game.

The Panthers came out in the second half with a 10-1 run to grab a one-point lead at 30-29, its only lead the whole game. Brittany Hudson scored nine of those points on her way to a team-high 13, but it wasn't enough.

The lead was short lived thanks to the outside shooting of seniors Danielle Hemerka (Blackwood, N.J.) and Honna Housley (Riceville, Tenn.), who each hit a three-pointer to spark an 18-4 run that turned the one-point deficit into a 47-34 Davidson lead with 8:35 left in the game that sealed GSU's fate.

Hemerka dished out a career-high seven assists to go along with eight points and eight rebounds in the winning effort.

The Wildcats would go on to push their lead out as many as 18 points in cruising to the 59-42 win.

Davidson finished the contest hitting 42.3 percent of its shots, and missed just one of its 12 attempts from the charity stripe.

Davidson takes a little break for the Thanksgiving holiday before it gears up for its annual cross-county rival game against the Charlotte 49ers on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Wildcats hold a 10-9 lead in the all-time series after taking a 75-69 decision at Belk Arena last year.