'Cats Fall Flat, Drop 68-65 Overtime Game at Wofford
2/17/2007 1:29:57 PM | Women's Basketball
Sports Information - Gavin McFarlin
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Despite placing four players in double figures for the seventh time this year, Davidson could not overcome a 34.8 percent shooting performance from the field as the Wofford Terriers rode the emotion of Senior Day to a 68-65 overtime win over the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon. Davidson saw their record drop to 20-7 overall and 11-5 in Southern Conference play. Wofford won its second straight, and fourth in the past five games, moving its overall mark to an even 13-13 and its league record to 7-9. The game was much different then the first meeting between the two schools this season when Davidson earned its biggest SoCon win ever by the count of 86-39.
Davidson saw its 10-game win streak against Wofford came to a halt. Wofford's last win against the Wildcats was on Feb. 11, 2002 by the score of 77-53. Also, for the second straight year the Wildcats were forced into overtime on the road against the Terriers, after winning 81-72 last season in the extra period.
Each of Wofford's four seniors had a part in upsetting the Wildcats. Jennifer Weurding scored 13 points, nine of them in the second half. Mary Jo Yee contributed a clutch three-pointer to start overtime, while K.C. Correll pulled down a key offensive rebound during overtime that helped keep alive a possession that Wofford would eventually get three points out of for a 66-63 lead at the time. Finally, Susanna Paul chipped in with one of the Terriers' six blocks on the afternoon.
Tied at 58-all, both teams traded three-pointers to start overtime. Wofford then took a quick two-point lead, before senior Brynn Kelly (Spokane, Wash.) knotted the score once more at 63-63 with a move in the paint for a layup with 3:30 to go in the extra period.
Wofford then used yet another three-ball by Liz Miller, her third of the game, to give the Terriers the lead for good. Davidson did close to within one, 66-65, and even had a chance to take the lead.
After a missed layup by Yee, Davidson got a great look inside to sophomore Mercedes Robinson (Mansfield, Texas) on the Wildcats' next possession, but she could not covert on the easy layup and Weurding hauled in the miss. Wofford tacked on three more points and the Wildcats last chance three-pointer with 4.2 seconds remaining came up short, resulting in the three-point defeat.
Senior Jessica Mitchell (Wilkesboro, N.C.) had a chance to end the game in regulation when she was called on to try for the game-winning shot. The Wildcats, who led by as many as nine points in the second half despite shooting only 34.5 percent, let Wofford come back to tie it at 58-all on a Weurding layup with 1:56 remaining in the second half.
After two missed opportunities by both teams, Davidson got the ball back with 30 seconds on the clock. The 'Cats worked the clock down to under six seconds when Mitchell drove the lane and pulled up for a clean look at a 12-footer, but her shot hit the front of the rim, forcing overtime.
Davidson, for the third game in a row, played catch up in the first half. Wofford used a hot-shooting hand from behind the arc early to grab a 22-15 advantage at the 7:45 mark. Miller gave the Terriers the seven-point lead with back-to-back three-pointers and finished the first half with nine of her 13 points. Miller would hit two of the Terriers' four three-balls in the stanza and Wofford as a team hit nine for the game. They finished the afternoon shooting 45.5 percent overall from the floor.
Davidson hit only 12 of their first 32 shots, but the 'Cats clawed their way back by running off a 17-10 streak at the end of the first stanza to bring themselves even with Wofford at 32-all heading into intermission.
Robinson had a nice game off the bench, dropping in a game- and career-high 16 points to go along with 11 boards for her third career double-double. Redshirt junior Katie Hamilton pulled down one more rebound than Robinson for a new career-high and Davidson won the rebounding margin, 49-35. The 49 boards were the most since Davidson had 56 against Oglethorpe last season.
Kelly, in her third game back from a foot injury that cost her nine games, chipped in with 13 points, while senior guard Tia Washington (Charlotte, N.C.) and Mitchell netted 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Davidson next heads to Boone, N.C. for a matchup against Appalachian State, who it defeated earlier this season 75-62, in a mid-week game on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.
