Womens Basketball Honors Its Three Seniors In This Weekend's Tilt vs. Georgia Southern
2/9/2007 1:25:19 PM | Women's Basketball
Sports Information - Gavin McFarlin
Georgia Southern Game Notes
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- The Wildcat women's basketball team will be looking to get back on the winning track and send their three seniors out in winning style in their second to last ever home game at Belk Arena on Saturday when they square off against Georgia Southern for Senior Day. Game time is set for a 2 p.m. tip-off. Seniors Brynn Kelly (Spokane, Wash.), Jessica Mitchell (Wilkesboro, N.C.) and Tia Washington (Charlotte, N.C.) will be honored before the game.
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| Senior Jessica Mitchell is hitting 37 percent of her three-pointers this season, second best on the team. |
Davidson, who enters play at 18-6 overall and in a second-place tie in the Southern Conference at 9-4, has hit a bit of a skid lately. After rattling off a school-best 10-game winning streak earlier this season along with an eight-game road winning streak, the Wildcats have just one win in their past four contests.
The Wildcats latest contest almost saw them break out of their funk and stop its 15-game skid against Chattanooga. Sophomore Kelly Gassie (Mt. Juliet), who had scored only 13 points combined in her past five contests, went off for a season-high tying 15 points in a season-best 28 minutes off the bench to pace the Wildcats. She helped lead a second-half charge that twice saw the 'Cats tie the score in the last four minutes, but time was not on their side, dropping a 70-65 decision to the Mocs.
Despite the three losses in the past four games, Davidson still ranks in the upper tier of the SoCon, both offensively and defensively. The Wildcats are second in points per game at 70.9 as redshirt junior Katie Hamilton (Lilburn, Ga.) and fellow junior Danielle Hemerka (Blackwood, N.J.) are averaging in double figures (10.6 ppg & 10.3 ppg).
The Wildcats also are second in field goal percentage, hitting 43.8 percent of their shots. Individually, Hemerka and Washington rank second and third, respectively, in the league.
On defense, Davidson allows it opponents only 60 points a game, good for second-best, while holding them to 39.1 percent shooting from the floor. They rank first in steals per game at 12.54 and are seventh overall in the nation in that category.
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| Junior Danielle Hemerka ranks 8th in the league with an average of 5.8 rebounds per game. |
Georgia Southern (9-15, 4-9 SoCon) enters play with the first of a three-game road trip. The Eagles are coming off a recent 68-60 loss to UNC Greensboro on Monday, Feb. 5. Before the loss, the Eagles had won two straight. But since their last meeting with Davidson, they are only sporting a 2-6 record. Overall on the season, the Eagles are just 2-7 in road games and have only one road win in conference.
GSU will have its leading scorer back for its second go-around with Davidson in Tiffany Brown. Brown missed the first meeting, but is averaging a team-best 14.3 ppg while hitting a team-high 37 three-pointers.
Davidson is seeking to continue its recent hot streak against the Eagles as it has ran off seven straight wins and are 9-3 during the Annette Watts' era vs. GSU. In the last meeting between the two schools, Davidson triumphed by the count of 69-51. The 'Cats placed three players in double-figures, led by senior Jessica Mitchell's 13 points. The Wildcat bench also contributed, going for 32 points in the winning effort as freshman Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.) and junior Honna Housley (Riceville, Tenn.) chipping in with 10 and 11 points, respectively.
