Davidson College Athletics
vs. Elon (Quarterfinals)
No. 3 'Cats Upset at SoCon Tourney, Drop 68-49 Decision in Quarterfinals
3/8/2008 1:40:22 PM | Women's Basketball
Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Davidson could not overcome a 31.7 percent shooting performance as Elon placed four players in double digits, led by Kitara McMoore's 19 in a 68-49 upset win over the Wildcats in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
The sixth-seeded Phoenix move on to play No. 2 Western Carolina in only their second trip ever to the semifinals on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Davidson, who was seeded third, saw their season come to an end at 19-11 overall. The 19 wins is the second-most in school history behind last year's school record 23.
Davidson finished the game just 19-of-60 from the field, with six of their field goals coming from behind the arc. Elon on the other hit at a 45.6 percent clip, including nailing 55.6 percent of its shots in the second half when the Phoenix outscored Davidson, 43-27.
Senior Honna Housley (Riceville, Tenn.) and junior All-SoCon performer Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore,
Md.) were the lone 'Cats to hit double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Robinson, who was picked by the media for a spot on the firs team, could not shake an off-shooting afternoon as she was just 5-of-16 from the floor. She led the Wildcats with six rebounds.
McMoore was joined by Tiffany Davis (15), Tierra Bumbrey (12) and Nicole Allison (11) in double figures, with Davis, Bumbrey and Allison combining to hit all seven of Elon's three-balls. McMoore added a game-high 12 rebounds for a double-double.
Davidson cut an eight-point Elon lead down to one, 36-35, on a Julia Paquette layup at the 11:50 mark in the second half, but it was all Elon from there on. The Phoenix ran off a 15-4 run to push its lead out to 12 points with 7:10 remaining.
The Wildcats cut it to ten (51-41) on two free throws from senior Danielle Hemerka (Blackwood, N.J.) but were not able to got any closer as the Phoenix lead grew to as much as 21 points before the final score of 68-49.
The first half saw both teams combine for seven treys with Davidson hitting four of its eight total field goals from behind the arc. Unfortunately, the 'Cats could not find their stroke inside the arc as they finished just 4-of-18 to close out the half at 27.6 percent.
Housley kept things close for Davidson with her third three-ball of the half to tie the score at 16-all. Elon then came right back down and got a three from Tierra Bumbrey and would go into halftime up 25-22. Housley scored 11 first half points to keep the Wildcats within striking distance.
14 of Elon's first-half points came in the paint as Kitara McMoore netted 10 points, all down low on the blocks.
Hemerka along with fellow senior teammates Housley and Katie Hamilton played their final games in a Wildcat uniform. Hemerka closed out the contest with six points and five rebounds, while Hamilton had two points and four rebounds off the bench.
Despite the loss, all three senior will leave Davidson with their names etch among the other Wildcat greats after outstanding four-year careers. Housley leaves with a share for the most three-pointers in a game (6), while both Hemerka and Hamilton were just the 10th and 11th players in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau for a career.
Game Notes: The loss to Elon is just the fourth in the all-time series for the Wildcats (10-4)... Davidson fell to 6-6 in quarterfinal games at the SoCon tourney... sophomore Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) had a nice all-around game with six points, five rebounds and five assists... Elon scored 32 of its 68 points in the paint... Davidson never led once in the game.
