Saturday, November 15
Rock Hill, S.C.
3:00 p.m.
Davidson College
61
at
40
Winthrop
Senior Mercedes Robinson chalked up her sixth double-double in the past eight contests dating back to last year.
Robinson Doubles Up in Impressive Season-Opening Win for 'Cats
11/15/2008 6:49:02 PM | Women's Basketball
Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID
BOX SCORE
ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Senior forward Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore, Md.) picked up where she left off a year ago with yet another double-double, dropping in game highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds, and the Davidson women's basketball team officially opened up its 2008-09 season with an impressive 61-40 road win at the Winthrop Hilton Garden Inn Classic on Saturday afternoon.
Robinson, the preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year, finished 5-of-11 from the field, hitting two three-pointers, while adding four steals and a block in the winning effort. The senior post player had a conference-best 14 double doubles last year, closing the season with five in her last seven games. For her career, Robinson has tallied 18 double doubles.
Matching Robinson in double figures was sophomore Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.) with 11 points to go along with six boards, three assists and two steals. Also filling up the stat sheet was junior Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) with seven points, seven rebounds and four assists.
In all, nine Wildcats (1-0) etched their names in the scorer's book, including three of the four freshman scoring their first collegiate points.
The Wildcats' defense was on full display, holding the Eagles to just 14 field goals and 22 percent shooting for the contest, while forcing 15 turnovers. They held the Eagles eight points through the first eight minutes of the second period when they started to run away with the game.
Leading 22-19 coming out of the break, Davidson came out strong offensively in the new half by opening up an 11-point advantage when the Wildcats scored the first eight points of the half.
Then after seeing the Eagles cut the deficit down to seven, 30-23, the 'Cats put the game out of reach by going on a 25-7 run to grab a comfortable 55-30 lead with 5:55 remaining. Highlighting the run was junior Monica Laune (Ashland, Neb.), who dropped in seven of her eight points during the outburst. Laune also matched her point total with eight rebounds.
Offensively, Davidson shot over 50 percent in the second half to blow open the game after it connected on just 23.3 percent of its shots in the first half.
Lax led the Wildcats out of the gate as she dropped in five quick points, including a three-ball, to give the 'Cats an early 9-0 lead 3:30 into the first half. Davidson hit four of its first seven shots and maintained the lead the entire half.
Winthrop hung around though, twice cutting the Davidson lead down to three points during the opening half. Trailing 15-5, the Eagles used a 8-0 run behind two three-pointers and a jumper to bring them within three at 15-13 at the 7:54 mark.
Then right before intermission, back-to-back layups by Yvonne van Daalen and Ashley Haugtvedt cut the Wildcat lead to 22-19 as the first stanza ended.
Winthrop was led by Haugtvedt's eight points, and she also added four boards and a block.
Davidson will now play Mississippi, which won the first game of the classic over North Carolina A&T, tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the championship game. The Wildcats, 14-12 at in-season tournaments since 2001-02, seeks its fourth title under head coach Annette Watts on Sunday.
Game Notes: Davidson improved to 4-4 under Watts in season openers ... The Wildcats are now 9-2 all-time against Winthrop ... The Winthrop Hilton Garden Inn Classic is the first of two in-season tournaments the Wildcats will participate in this year ... 21 of the Wildcats' 57 total rebounds came on the offensive end ... Freshman Kristen Johnsen earned her first collegiate start in the win as she closed with two points and five rebounds to go along with a block ... The Wildcats got 21 points from their bench, led by Laune's eight points.
ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Senior forward Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore, Md.) picked up where she left off a year ago with yet another double-double, dropping in game highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds, and the Davidson women's basketball team officially opened up its 2008-09 season with an impressive 61-40 road win at the Winthrop Hilton Garden Inn Classic on Saturday afternoon.
Robinson, the preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year, finished 5-of-11 from the field, hitting two three-pointers, while adding four steals and a block in the winning effort. The senior post player had a conference-best 14 double doubles last year, closing the season with five in her last seven games. For her career, Robinson has tallied 18 double doubles.
Matching Robinson in double figures was sophomore Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.) with 11 points to go along with six boards, three assists and two steals. Also filling up the stat sheet was junior Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) with seven points, seven rebounds and four assists.
In all, nine Wildcats (1-0) etched their names in the scorer's book, including three of the four freshman scoring their first collegiate points.
The Wildcats' defense was on full display, holding the Eagles to just 14 field goals and 22 percent shooting for the contest, while forcing 15 turnovers. They held the Eagles eight points through the first eight minutes of the second period when they started to run away with the game.
Leading 22-19 coming out of the break, Davidson came out strong offensively in the new half by opening up an 11-point advantage when the Wildcats scored the first eight points of the half.
Then after seeing the Eagles cut the deficit down to seven, 30-23, the 'Cats put the game out of reach by going on a 25-7 run to grab a comfortable 55-30 lead with 5:55 remaining. Highlighting the run was junior Monica Laune (Ashland, Neb.), who dropped in seven of her eight points during the outburst. Laune also matched her point total with eight rebounds.
Offensively, Davidson shot over 50 percent in the second half to blow open the game after it connected on just 23.3 percent of its shots in the first half.
Lax led the Wildcats out of the gate as she dropped in five quick points, including a three-ball, to give the 'Cats an early 9-0 lead 3:30 into the first half. Davidson hit four of its first seven shots and maintained the lead the entire half.
Winthrop hung around though, twice cutting the Davidson lead down to three points during the opening half. Trailing 15-5, the Eagles used a 8-0 run behind two three-pointers and a jumper to bring them within three at 15-13 at the 7:54 mark.
Then right before intermission, back-to-back layups by Yvonne van Daalen and Ashley Haugtvedt cut the Wildcat lead to 22-19 as the first stanza ended.
Winthrop was led by Haugtvedt's eight points, and she also added four boards and a block.
Davidson will now play Mississippi, which won the first game of the classic over North Carolina A&T, tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the championship game. The Wildcats, 14-12 at in-season tournaments since 2001-02, seeks its fourth title under head coach Annette Watts on Sunday.
Game Notes: Davidson improved to 4-4 under Watts in season openers ... The Wildcats are now 9-2 all-time against Winthrop ... The Winthrop Hilton Garden Inn Classic is the first of two in-season tournaments the Wildcats will participate in this year ... 21 of the Wildcats' 57 total rebounds came on the offensive end ... Freshman Kristen Johnsen earned her first collegiate start in the win as she closed with two points and five rebounds to go along with a block ... The Wildcats got 21 points from their bench, led by Laune's eight points.
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